


Legacy

by SacchiHikaru



Series: Digital Prophecy [1]
Category: Digimon Adventure, Digimon Adventure Zero Two | Digimon Adventure 02, Digimon Tamers, Elsword (Video Game)
Genre: Complicated Relationships, Developing Relationship, Drama & Romance, Falling In Love, Friendship/Love, Gay Sex, M/M, Melancholy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2021-01-23
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:21:01
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 134,512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25522771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SacchiHikaru/pseuds/SacchiHikaru
Summary: Two years after a war that spanned both the Human and Digital Worlds, much has changed for Veemon and for the "army" he now serves. The future seems hopeless, but perhaps hope is closer than any one might expect.
Relationships: Motomiya Daisuke | Davis Motomiya & Veemon
Series: Digital Prophecy [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2133489
Kudos: 9





	1. Melancholy

**Author's Note:**

> This fanfiction is part of a personal setting that, while not "complete", is at least developed enough to be considered a setting. This work is not either the first part of the setting, chronologically, nor is it the last, which might make understanding the intricacies difficult or outright impossible at times. I will do my best to explain the important parts, but I apologize in advance if there is confusion.
> 
> The setting takes parts of Digimon Adventure, Adventure Zero Two, Tamers and the World series (specifically World 4), and adds in Elsword characters and OCs to boot. It is most important for you to have prior knowledge of the Digimon series to understand it, although some knowledge of Elsword would definitely not hurt you. 
> 
> The point of this story is to explore how the setting's prior events would have affected the secondary characters, told through the lens of Davis and (primarily) Veemon. That said, the perspectives will leap around a lot, as part of the story is also to expand on the setting itself and to clean a few loose ends from prior arcs. I know that reading this, you might think to yourself that it doesn't make sense, because prior arcs have not been written yet. I know. I hope that you are able to enjoy the story despite the lack of full context - it isn't as required, since it is dealing with secondary characters.
> 
> Also, unless otherwise stated, assume all times used in this story are Japanese Standard Time (GMT+9)

September 4th, 2025  
9:32PM

“You’re not winning, Vee.”

Davis’s voice comes suddenly as I make another back dash to get away from his pressure, “That’s what you think, Davis.” I respond, sending another projectile his way, which he deftly avoids and attempts to keep pressure on, while I attempt to catch my footing.

It is always a game of move and counter move between the two of us, fast reflexes and knowing to read your opponent are key parts of fighting games, after all.

Finally getting my opening, I dash forward and start applying my own pressure, frantically pressing the buttons on my controller – it is almost funny how I’ve found myself in this scenario so many times that it has become entirely muscle memory, and it’s become just a matter of trying to catch Davis out before he can go back to mid-range and set the match back to his pace.

With how much we’ve played this over the years, it’s a wonder that these controllers and this console have lasted as long as they have.

My concentration lapses for a moment, I make a risky move and he guesses correctly, sending my character flying and setting up his unblockable. But in the split second I have, I see that he hasn’t noticed how my resources are, and with a grin, I get my character as close as possible to his before his setup is fully complete – a risky strategy in any other situation, but with a simple button combination, my character’s theme song starts to play, and I set down my controller on my lap and the winning screen plays.

Davis sets his own controller down, I rest my cheek on my hand and turn towards him, my elbow resting on my knee. He turns to me with a pout, I grin, and Davis sighs in response – “I need to learn to not go for flashy and impractical stuff like that.” He says.

“To be fair.” I start, “If I didn’t have my super there, I would have to just take it and lose the round.”

Davis snorts, “So what you’re saying is that I need to pay attention to your resources, not just my own?” he smiles, and I nod enthusiastically, “Basically yeah.”

The two of us break out into warm laughter, I set my own controller aside as Davis gets up and stretches. “I think that’s enough for today though.” He continues, still smiling, “It’s already half past nine.”

I turn my gaze upwards, seeing the clock above Davis’s comparatively small TV. “It really is, huh.” I sigh, picking up my controller and getting up from the bed, two steps later and I’m opening the drawer below Davis’ TV and stashing it there, as Davis does the same.

“I should probably take a bath before I sleep.” Davis says, moving to his wardrobe at the edge of the room, past his small table for his laptop, “I’ll be going with you.” I say afterwards, mostly because I don’t want to fall asleep quite yet. Tomorrow is work. Tomorrow is always work.

Davis opens the doors to the wardrobe and leans forward, starting to grab his clothes, “Been a bit since we’ve bathed together, hasn’t it?” he asks, “You’ve been arriving later and later recently.”

I nod absentmindedly, closing my eyes, “Gatomon has been running us rather ragged.” I sigh, “It’s a wonder I managed to get home early today. I guess she just took pity on me.”

“How is the cleanup duty going?”

“I don’t know.” I exhale in frustration, “I usually get stuck with patrols or search and destroy. It’s almost always the exact same job, I don’t get to see the differences my labor makes.”

“I assume you haven’t heard anything about that raise?” A loud _bump_ sound echoes from inside the wardrobe, and Davis groans in frustration, “So _that’s_ where it was.” He says, quietly.

“Gatomon’s been _considering it_ for the past four months.” I groan, “I don’t think I’m getting that raise, Davis.”

Davis doesn’t respond for several seconds, before sighing and closing the wardrobe doors, his pajamas in hand. “I guess we’ll have to make do, then.”

He starts to walk towards the door, I get up from the bed, following suit, but as soon as he opens it, on the other side, his sister Jun, her greying hair and slightly sallow skin looking at him, “Oh, brother.” She starts, and then nods towards me.

“Sis?” Davis asks, “What do you want?”

“I got an interview tomorrow.” She rubs her eyes, “So I’ll be out of the house early, I’ll leave you two breakfast on the table, but don’t expect to see me until the evening.” A pause, “Can you do some grocery shopping? I think we’re almost out.”

Davis nods in agreement, “Sleep well sis, we’ll try not to make noise.” Sometimes I look at these small interactions and I have to remind myself that these are the same siblings that could not stop bickering when they were younger.

“You too.” Jun answers, and then starts walking to her room, and I gently follow behind Davis, looking at Jun as she closes the door, sighing.

As we reach the apartment’s tiny bathroom, Davis starts setting up the water, while I have to stand on my tiptoes to close the door and lock it – damn doorknob heights!

“Was it just me, or is she more tired than usual?” I ask as I turn around.

Davis starts taking off his shirt, “I didn’t want to comment on it.” He starts, “But she has been job hunting for a while, and judging by her demeanor, she’s expecting to be rejected again tomorrow.” He tosses his shirt on the floor, “Can’t exactly blame her for being exhausted.”

“I guess at her age, she definitely wouldn’t have as much energy as you do.” I start, moving to the bathtub, pulling myself up slightly and placing my hand in, checking the temperature – “I still think it’s fucked up that they gave you the Data Saving treatments and not her.”

“Believe me Vee, so do I.” he answers, “Seeing my sister, who’s only supposed to be a few years older than me looking like my grandmother…” I hear him undoing his pants, “…while I still look in my early twenties is… jarring.”

“At least you two don’t bicker as much anymore.” I giggle, and Davis chuckles, “Only because she doesn’t have the energy to do that anymore, believe me.” He answers, “We still disagree on a _lot_ of things.”

“And besides…” I can _hear_ the smile in his tone “That’s what I got you for, isn’t it?”

I turn around, seeing that he has almost finished taking his clothes off, “The only reason why I don’t throw water at you right now is because this tub is too large for me to do that.”

Davis laughs a bit more loudly than he’d probably like, because he covers his mouth with his hand midway through, “Yep, that’s what I got you for.” He smiles, and as he finally finishes getting naked, he checks the water’s temperature alongside me. After a few more moments, he turns off the faucet and climbs inside, grabbing me along with him.

The warm water hits my body, and suddenly I feel my entire body relax. Tensions I didn’t even know I was holding start fading way quickly, and with a deep breath, I close my eyes and sigh, “Boy, I’m glad I came.”

It’s at that exact moment that I feel a tiny splash of water hit my face at a high velocity. I open my eyes, to see his fingers just barely above the water, and his mischievous smile splattered across his entire face. He’s just flicked water in my direction.

I frown, but smile right afterwards, “Do you _really_ want to start this?” I ask, and Davis chuckles, “Nope, that was my revenge for the match.” He shows me his tongue for a moment.

I smile mischievously, lean closer to him while gently grabbing a handful of the tub’s water, and then quickly raise my hand above his head, pouring the water over his face. A small, startled _“Ack!”_ escapes his throat, he quickly pushes me away and I giggle all the while.

“You lost fair and square, y’know.” I say and Davis, after pushing the water out of his face, smiles back at me, “Yeah, but I have to get back at you for that somehow.”

We both laugh.

September 5th, 2025  
6:35AM

Davis’ voice rings out in the back of my consciousness, but I barely pay it any mind, the comforting hug of the blankets lulling me back to sleep. I pull on them slightly, adjusting my head’s position.

“Vee.” The voice comes again, this time a little louder, I can feel the shaking, _oh god damn it Davis._ I groan loudly, pulling the blanket over my head, but despite my protests, the shaking doesn’t stop.

He says something again, I don’t catch it, but eventually as he shakes me slightly harder, I groan again, pulling the blankets off me and starting to open my eyes – “I’m awake… I’m awake…” No, I’m really not.

As I open my eyes, the first thing I see is the blurry visage of Davis’ face, sitting only an inch or two from mine. The room still seems dark, so my eyes don’t immediately hurt upon opening, but it’s going to take a bit still. I’ve never been a morning person.

“You’re late, and we still have to catch breakfast.” He says, and I groan again, “Yeah, yeah… I know…” I will never understand how and why _you_ were the one who learned how to wake up early here.

I start rubbing my eyes to help me wake up. I didn’t exactly sleep _well_ last night – gods know, I don’t really sleep well most nights – but I at least got a good amount of sleep, so at least this drowsiness will leave me soon.

As I rub my eyes and my senses start to come to me properly, I can feel something rubbing across my face. I look slightly to the side, seeing Davis gently caressing my face with his thumb. This… is unusual. But it’s nice.

“What time is it?” I ask, blinking a few times, “Half past six.” He answers, then he gazes upwards, “Well, twenty to seven, actually.” He smiles, “You should probably get up.”

I pull myself upwards, sitting down on the bed, tossing the blankets away – if I keep them on me any longer I might just snuggle up and sleep again, honestly. As I keep rubbing my eyes and blinking, I can feel the bed get lighter as Davis leaves, but I don’t open my eyes.

Ugh, I wonder what Gatomon will have me do today? Probably more patrol duty, honestly. I hate it. I hate it so much. Walking around a damn forest. Or a desert. Or a beach or a deserted town. Always alone too. Entire days spent just walking around and _looking around_.

‘Course. It’s not only just walking around. Nine times out of ten there’s a Berserk Digimon who wants to kill me right around the corner. So I can never relax. I can never just enjoy the scenery and take a walk. No. I need to keep myself on high alert all day every damn day. It’s exhausting. It’s _maddening_.

It’d help so much if I didn’t have to kill them too. It’d help so much if I hadn’t grown so _used_ to killing them too. I still remember. The lump in my throat. The retching and the disgust I felt whenever I had to kill to survive. Now it just feels empty. Now it just feels like another life taken. Just a number. Just a number.

_Davis!_

I can still hear it, in the back of my mind. I can still remember the footsteps, the heat of the fires engulfing my body. The running, the desperation. _Davis please!_ I can remember Jun grabbing her brother and pulling him away, a helicopter ready to catch all of them. I remember looking back, Davis was stunned, he was looking upon the destroyed city, he wanted to do something – his hand reached for his digivice, but he knew he couldn’t do anything.

 _Davis!_ I still remember Tai grabbing Davis by the back of his shirt, I still remember the older man throwing my partner full force on the helicopter and then pinning him down. I still remember looking. Looking towards the chaos. The collapsing buildings and the flames that seemed simultaneously so close and so far away. I remember the shouting, the screaming. I remember how powerless I felt as I saw yet another Digimon descend on the town – how many, how many are dying at this exact second? How many are stuck somewhere with no one to help them? How many can I still save? Maybe, maybe if I go now, maybe if I digivolve maybe I can-

_VEEMON, MOVE!_

I feel myself thrown backwards hard onto the helicopter. Before I can even respond, the helicopter’s door is closed, and the blades are starting to spin. I can see the golden silhouette outside – Wargreymon taking flight to protect us. To buy us time. Everything stops in that moment, the black cloud of smoke rising farther and farther up the city, and my body, my body that refuses to move as I desperately grasp for air.

Tai finally lets go of Davis, and my partner responds by grasping for the door, but he stops. We’re already too far off to ground to stop now. It’s done. We’re escaping. We’re leaving all these people behind to die. _If we die, there’s no one left to win the war_. Tai’s voice sounds so distant. I don’t remember the last time I heard Davis sobbing. I don’t remember the last time I saw Jun consoling her younger brother. The sobbing isn’t just his. I can hear Kari sobbing too. On the corner of my eye, I can see Takeru consoling her, but even he is crying. As Wargreymon’s silhouette vanishes from view, Seraphimon’s and Ophanimon’s pass by. All three protecting the helicopter as it takes us to safety.

But not me. Not right now. Ken and Wormmon are stuck on the other side of the city. I could help. I could help if only they were here. If only Davis’ digivice wasn’t damaged. I could help. I’m the Digimon of Miracles. I could help.

I could help.

_I couldn’t help._

The poke on my shoulder breaks me out of my melancholic reverie, Davis, now fully dressed, sits beside me on the bed, “You okay there?” he asks, his hand moving towards my face, wiping a tear that I didn’t know I had shed.

“Oh I…” How long was I stuck in that daydream? I didn’t even notice him getting dressed. I wipe at both of my eyes, rubbing the tears away, “Y…yeah.” My tone isn’t convincing.

Davis looks at me with a small frown, but he doesn’t ask me anything. Instead, his hand places a small plate on my lap – two sandwiches on it. “You didn’t come to the kitchen, so these are for you.”

I take a deep breath, and then another. I hate it when I get stuck in that day again. I hate it when I remember. It’s impossible not to. If… If only I had _just been faster!_ Then… then less people would be dead. Davis’ digivice wouldn’t have been broken. I could have Armor Digivolved. Less people would have died. I could h—

I perk up again, this time a small hand caressing my head, the thumb gently and encouragingly rubbing at the back of my head. I don’t know when I started eating – the breadcrumbs falling out of my mouth and into the plate – but I… I definitely need to stop. Deep breaths Veemon. _Deep breaths._

Davis keeps rubbing my head, as I quietly and almost absentmindedly continue to eat the two sandwiches. We sit in silence together, as I focus not on the action I’m doing, but on what he’s doing to me. His hand gently moves from my head to scratching the back of my ear, to gently rubbing my cheek. I look at him, and he has a small smile in his face, simply looking at me and continuing his work.

It… helps. It gives me something comforting to focus on. Something that doesn’t let my mind wander. I start leaning into his work, both encouraging him to continue and giving him more space to do so. Wordlessly, he goes back to scratching behind my ears, and I smile slightly for him.

Eventually, I go to reach for the sandwich again, but find my plate empty. I open my eyes and look towards the plate, and Davis proceeds to wordlessly pick it up and place it on the nightstand beside the bed. He leans in closer, and he seems like he’s going to pull me in, but he raises his head, and turns towards the clock.

7:12

Davis sighs, “Late.” He says, “I… think it’s best you go.” A sad frown appears on his face, and I sigh in response, “Yeah, don’t want to keep Gatomon waiting _too_ long.”

I get up from the bed, stretching. Despite my earlier state, I feel very awake now. As the cracks in my back start to pop, Davis gets up and starts leaving the room, likely to leave for his own work. “Hey Davis?” I say, and he turns towards me, “…Thanks. You helped a lot.”

Davis smiles, “No problem.”

September 5th  
7:13AM

I shake my head and open my eyes, the screen of the smartphone – sorry, the _communicator_ – gently glowing as the light dims, and the teleportation is complete. Before me is a scene I’ve seen many, many times. A small corridor made of completely metal color, with no decorations whatsoever. A double-door larger than I am as X-Veemon towers before me, the exit, and to my left and right sides, normal sized doors, in equally metallic colors, one of them having been left slightly open.

I turn around, witnessing a double-door that goes from the floor all the way to the very ceiling, standing at 10 meters or so. A door made to scream _this is important_ , and yet despite that, it still finds itself with no real ornamentation to speak of. Its metallic color glints slightly as I push it open, despite its size, it’s always been surprisingly light.

Beyond me is another room of ridiculous size, large enough to be able to support a small army – it is part conference room, so I suppose it makes sense. This room, unlike the rest of HQ, does have some small amount of decoration. A large, long red carpet extends from the entrance all the way to the opposite side of this room, going over a few steps and ending at a metallic throne of comparatively normal size.

On the throne sits the woman I’ve come to see every single day of my life – Gatomon, quietly typing away at a semi-transparent keyboard and monitor that hovers idly in front of her. Her size makes her sitting on the throne look ridiculous, but I’ve never really had the guts to tell her that.

Or at least, not recently.

“Reporting for duty.” I always found it weird how there’s no echo in the throne room, despite how empty it is. I approach the throne and cross my arms, looking at the cat who’s only a few meters away from me.

“Veemon.” Gatomon starts. Her gaze never shifting towards me, “You’re going to take on H-12 and H-13 today, patrol duty.” She continues, I frown as she makes a small pause, “Your equipment is in the locker, as always.

I breathe in very deeply before turning to her, “Anything in particular I’m looking for?” I can already tell that the answer is going to be— “No, we just need to make sure the situation hasn’t changed.” Of course.

I groan again, “And I’m to do this one solo?” I ask, and her gaze finally shifts towards me. Her large ears twitch slightly, amused, “Yes.” She responds, “Unless something happens to have you require backup, you will be sent in solo. This is a routine mission.”

I frown towards her again, but her gaze shifts towards her monitors again. I take in a deep breath and start to walk away, I have long since lost my drive to butt heads with her. She never listens, and after the last time—

_I don’t care if you want to do it, **rookie.** If you do, you have your assignment. If you don’t, **stop wasting my time.**_

A chill runs down my spine, I massage my throat slightly as I remember the pain of being pinned to the ground by it. Gatomon was never exactly a _pacifist_ but to see her being so _brutal_ is…

I take a deep breath, opening the door to the right of the entrance, and going down the hall towards the locker room. It was always the same hallway, the same door, the same locker. The door in the middle of the hall opens, and much like always, the room is empty, save for rows upon rows of lockers upon the ground, every one of them identical to the others.

And so, like every single day of my life for the past two years, I go to the locker, place my hand on the reader, and hear the “click” that opens it. I reach inside, grabbing the utility-belt that was made for me. I place it around my waist and lock it in place, alongside the shoulder portion, and as I’ve been trained to do, I inspect each and every pouch.

The first three holding small sandwiches wrapped in plastic, my rations for the day, they always tasted slightly dry, but were at least nourishing, and somehow were always there every morning, not matter how early or late I came to HQ. The large pouch towards my left side empty, as it was used to gather “anything of interest” while on my missions. The holster on the right side of my hip holding a gun that had once been provided to me long ago – something for all Digimon with no ranged attacks, they said, so we could have a fighting chance.

I sneer slightly at it before detaching the magazine – full, twelve bullets, as always – before checking the safety – on, as always, even when I forget to turn it off before leaving – and I check the small dial on its side, illuminated slightly by a pale blue color, “D.B.P.” inscribed at the bottom of the dial. I remember Gatomon telling me what that was supposed to mean, but I don’t remember what it was. I just know that it makes the gun better at killing Digimon.

The dial is turned to “off”, I turn it to “minimum” and holster the gun again. No accidents yet since the safety’s still on anyway. I place the magazine in again, I holster the gun. I check the other pouches – three magazines in each. Ten total, counting the one already in the gun. 120 shots. I reach for the last thing in the locker, the small round thing that I place around my left ear, a small "click" locking it in place.

I breathe in deeply. Every day it’s the same thing. The same locker. The same gun. The same rations. The same ammunition. The same routine. Almost always the same assignment. And as I grab the _communicator_ once again, I turn to its _checkpoint_ function. I very quickly find the area of my assignment for the day – the H sector, a large tundra – and click okay. I frown as the light on my communicator glows slightly more.

Just another day.

September 5th, 2025  
4:47PM

The door opens with a small ringing bell above it, and the smell of freshly baked bread invades his nostrils. Davis takes a moment to inhale deeply, smiling, as he closes the door behind him. “Welcome!” a voice rings out from the opposite side of the bakery, as Davis quietly looks around.

He begins to move between the aisles, slowly. “If you need any help, just let me know!” the voice cheerily says, and a small hum of a tune can be heard from the counter. Davis lets his fingers pass through the shelves, looking at each of the types of sweets he wanted – maybe just one would be fine, as a treat?

Of course, his gaze would always eventually fall on the price tag, and he’d mentally sigh with a bitter smile.

As he moved through the aisle, he grabbed a loaf of bread from one of the shelves – the one thing he really had to grab – and proceeded towards the checkout. He placed the loaf on the counter and ringed the little bell next to the scanner – no one was here to help him, so he’d have to wait a second.

“Oh, I’ll be right there!” the voice called out again, it said, the humming stopped for a few seconds, and eventually the steps started to approach. When Davis looked to the side, he could see the white apron and the tightly wrapped hair – his brown hair covered for the sanitation, and his brownish red eyes glimmering slightly in the light, his smile always infectious. “Oh, Davis.”

“Hello, Takato.” Davis smiled back, placing the plastic bags from his previous grocery shopping throughout the day on the floor “Is it just you in the store today?” he asked, as Takato started to move behind the counter to do the checkout. “For a bit, yeah, boss is out right now, doing gods know what.” He laughs.

“How have things been for you?” Takato asked, with the mildest of smiles. And Davis simply shook his head, “Could be better.” He answered, his smile becoming slightly strained, “Sis is still looking for a job, Veemon’s always working.” He continues.

“Tell me about it.” Takato continues to smile, “Guilmon gets back home late most nights. I usually go to sleep without him.” He chuckles slightly, “In fact, I think he’s been getting more work lately.”

“So, it’s not just Veemon.” Davis answered, “Yesterday he got back home early, but because he _got lucky_.” He spat out, considering how Vee still got home at 8, and seemed very tired despite that. “Gatomon seems to be overworking them.”

“She’s overworking everyone, from what I hear.” Takato continues, “Ruki and Lee told me Renamon and Terriermon are in the same boat.” He sighs, “Still, greater good and all, isn’t it?” he looks back to Davis with an apologetic smile.

“Yeah, greater good.” His voice likely sounded more bitter than he intended it to, “I still wish she wouldn’t run them this hard.” Davis shakes his head, “What about you, how have things been for you?”

“They’ve been fine, all things considered.” Takato answered, “Guilmon’s always working, but he brings in enough that, with the bakery, I can afford to splurge a bit.” He smiles, “I went out with Tai a few days ago. We went shopping.” He laughs, “Mostly window shopping, mind, still fun though.”

“Just you and Tai?”

“Oh, no, Matt was there too.” He continued, “And Sora and Izzy came in a bit later. Takeru and Kari were with us for a bit too.” He smiled, “We did a lot of things that day. It was a blast.”

Davis smiled as Takato continued to talk, knowing full well that he had completely forgotten to run his purchase through the scanner. He listened intently, almost enraptured by his cheery attitude and enthusiastic retelling of the day. How he and Tai met early at the station, how he was surprised when Matt showed up shortly afterwards. They went shopping and briefly met TK and Kari who were, by sheer coincidence, also shopping – although they were killing time before a movie.

He spoke about the new clothes that Matt had to go buy, and how Sora caught them midway through their shopping and gave her own opinions and suggestions, much to Matt’s chagrin and both his and Tai’s amusement. His laughter was infectious, his chuckles frequent, and Davis found himself engaging with his story – asking questions and clarifications.

“Wait so you just randomly… found Izzy in the food court?” Davis asked, incredulously. Takato laughed. “And Tai took the opportunity to spook him, yeah.” A satisfied smile on his face, “Sometimes I forget that Tai can be a doofus too.”

“I think he rubbed off on you a bit.” Davis smiled, and Takato smiled wider, “You’re one to talk. Don’t you still have the goggles?”

Davis laughed. He did, of course, even if they were too small to properly fit his head nowadays, he kept them in the drawer under the nightstand. A reminder of the leader he was and still is. A reminder of less complicated days. “Guilty as charged.” He admitted, raising both hands and smiling.

“What was Izzy even doing in the food court? I thought he didn’t like to go out that much.” Davis asked, leaning forward a bit on the counter, and Takato simply smiled back, “Oh he said something about needing to clear his head a bit, honestly I didn’t pay much attention.” He started, “Tai seemed sympathetic. I think he’s got a soft spot for Izzy.”

“He does, yes.” Davis continued, “He’d never fully admit it, but he does.” A hearty chuckle escaping his throat, “What about you, Davis?” Takato started, “Any recent stories to tell?”

Davis breathed in deeply, he pushed the loaf of bread next to the scanner, and Takato, seemingly having just remembered he was supposed to be doing his actual job, started to do checkout. Davis casually went for his wallet and started grabbing the payment, although he knew full well this stall tactic was only going to last him a few more seconds.

The truth was, he didn’t. He hadn’t been out with the destined in years, and he didn’t really have another group of friends. It was much harder for him to do anything, of course, when most others lived in the same apartment complex or at least nearby – or at the very least, close to the subway – Davis hadn’t been so lucky, ending up in an apartment much farther from anyone else than he had liked. If he knew he’d grow so melancholic in so little time, he never would have volunteered to take the worst option provided by the army.

Then again, someone had to.

As he opened his wallet and fished around for his bills, he frowned, he had so little left already. He had meagre savings to his name, not enough to really last him much. And now…

“Takato.” Davis started, raising his head, “I needed to ask you something.”

“What’s up?” Takato didn’t look towards him, his voice still cheery as always. “Does the bakery have an opening?”

Takato turned towards Davis then, and his brow was furrowed. He could see the gears turning in the baker’s head, that little glint of realization, the small “oh” that escaped his lips involuntarily. “I messed up one of my noodles, badly.” Davis continued, smiling bitterly, “So… I’m looking too.”

Takato blinked a few times, before his gaze turned a lot more serious, “I’ll make sure to put in a good word for you.” He starts, “It shouldn’t be difficult. You have experience working with food already.” A small pause as Takato gazed around the store briefly, “…And y’know, me being the only person in the store is probably a lot more common than it should be.” A small chuckle. “I could use a helper.”

Davis smiled, “Thanks.” He answered, “I owe you one.”

Takato waved his hand dismissively, “Don’t mention it.” He started, “You’ll have to wake up early though, Bakery opens at 6, and I think it’s an hour’s walk to your apartment?”

Davis nodded, “Thanks all the same.” He continued, smiling again. Working with Takato would at least put some more excitement back into his life. Maybe then he’d finally get out of this rut he’s been in for a while. Heh. Maybe he could actually be his old self again.

Maybe he could see Veemon smile a bit more.

He placed the bills on the counter and Takato picked them up and started to do the last bit of the transaction, but while Davis closed his wallet and went to store it back into his pocket, his other pocket started to vibrate.

As he reached for his phone and looked at the caller’s id, there was no number listed, but there was a single name – “Headquarters”.

Davis quickly accepted the call, his eyes bulging slightly. “Davis speaking.” His breathing was already accelerated. He had never gotten a call from HQ without it being something dreadfully serious. “What happened?”

“Daisuke.” The voice on the other side was cold and analytical. He recognized the voice; it was the same voice that occasionally called him back during the Digital War. She was never a bearer of good news. He gulped down as he heard the little pause. If he weren’t so hyper focused on the call, he would notice Takato placing the loaf of bread on a small bag, turning the corner to put it with his other bags.

“Veemon is injured.” She continued, and Davis’ heart started to sink, “He’s alive, and stable, but I would like you to come here as soon as possible.” Davis barely registered the news intended to soften the blow. “I’ll be right there.” He answered. He didn’t register the fact that the call ended before he could hang up himself. His left hand shoved his phone back on his pocket, his right hand grabbing his groceries in a flash. “I gotta go.”

He didn’t wait for Takato’s answer, dashing out of the store with a speed he had forgotten he once had. If he had been thinking rationally at that moment, he would have ran to Takato’s house to use _his_ checkpoint into the Digital World, but his emotions and adrenaline had taken over. Even if Veemon was fine, _he had to be there._

And behind him, on the store, stood Takato, quietly hearing the chime of the bell above the door and it violently rang with Davis’s burst of speed. He sighed, “I can’t blame you for acting like that.” He said, to no one in particular. He hadn’t heard the conversation, of course, but he knew. There was only one thing that could get Davis on that kind of mood. He wondered if Davis would notice.

But as he was once again the only person in the store, Takato slapped his own cheeks twice, placing his face again into a smile. He hummed his own favorite tune as he went back behind the counter to continue with his work. The bell rang again, a new customer had come in shortly afterwards, “Welcome!” His poker face was much better than Davis’.


	2. Hope

September 5th, 2025  
4:13PM

I trudge through the snow, my progress slowed significantly by its thickness. Had it been literally any other sector, an area as small as this would’ve taken me perhaps only three hours. As it is, I’m only getting close to finished.

I lean against a dead tree for a moment, catching my breath, but as I inhale and exhale, I feel a large weight drop on top of me. “Ack!” escapes my mouth, as I drop to my knees, the snow thick enough to go past my elbows as I catch myself from falling face-first, and only barely succeeding.

I look upwards for a moment, the tree is blackened with decay, its branches are thick, but falling apart at the same time. The one right above me has a clump of this slightly grey snow hanging off its edge. I touch my head for a moment, and as I bring it back to look at it, it really was just a bunch of snow that fell on top of me.

Grumbling, I get myself back up, using the tree for balance, and shake the snow off my head and shoulders. Despite me having already spent most of the day here, I still brace myself for the cold whenever I place my hands on this snow. It’s involuntary. It’s snow, of course it should be cold. What kind of snow is _warm_ to the touch?

Well, this one, I guess.

It did have the perk that I felt comfortably warm drudging through it, and not a shivering mess, but it was so thick and difficult to move through that it was barely a blessing. Taking a deep breath, I continue on my way.

I pull out my gun from its holster again, I look at it, the safety’s on, the “D.B.P” is set to minimum, just as I left it. I detach the magazine, six shots, I sigh – have I been getting that jumpy? – I place the magazine back in and holster the weapon again. I look to the other side of my hip, the larger pouch, and open it. Nothing. Nothing that caught my eye anyway.

Closing the bag tightly, I reach for the other pouches, the first one is empty, a small plastic wrapper being the only thing left. The second one showing a mostly eaten sandwich wrapped in a plastic wrapper too large for what remains of the lunch. The third shows a full sandwich, still intact. The fourth has three magazines. The fifth has three magazines. The sixth has three magazines. Still 114 shots left.

Closing the sixth pouch, I press my left index and middle fingers to the earpiece, it crackles to life immediately, and I remove my fingers from it right afterwards. My hand reaches for the seventh pouch, holding my communicator inside. I press its button, it lights up immediately, showing my current position on the Digital World’s map. By my best estimates, there’s about a quarter of my assigned area left to explore.

This ritual always helped keep me focused. Always helped me keep in mind how good my pace is. I still remember trying to perform assignments as best and as quickly as possible, until Gatomon started getting angry at me because I wasn’t “paying enough attention to my surroundings and could have missed something important”.

_This isn’t a game, Veemon._

I shake my head, blink, and look back forward, seeing the spot between two equally blackened and dead trees, but as I push past them and stare, something’s wrong here. A long thick line through the snow, heading from north to south – or maybe south to north, it’s too vague to tell – and it looked to be from someone larger than I was. I can’t tell if they were in a hurry or not though, but they were here recently enough for the snow to not have settled yet.

My fingers reach for my earpiece again, “Veemon to HQ, do you read? Over.” I remember once hating to use the military lingo, but Gatomon insisted, in her usual way that brokers no objections. “Loud and clear, over.” Came Gatomon’s voice over the earpiece, “I have found a weird trail, are there any others that came through here? Over.”

I start to look around, the trees around the trail seemed undisturbed, there were no scratching marks or otherwise. It was eerily quiet, as the world had grown to be over the last few years. I am alone. Hopefully. Checking my communicator again, I confirm that my route is through this trail and to the northwest. So, either I’m going directly in the opposite direction of whoever left this trail, or right to them.

I look back at my own trail to compare. Whoever left this one seems to have been a biped like me, larger judging by the thickness, but probably not so large to dwarf the trees. Either a rookie or a small champion, probably. There’s a good chance that it was just someone else from—

“None of our operatives have passed through that area today, over.”

Well, that’s that idea busted.

I take a deep breath and sigh, “Do you want me to investigate? Over.” Knowing Gatomon…

“No.” Gatomon replies, to my surprise. “It is not a priority, continue on your regular assignment, over and out.”

The call cuts off abruptly. Huh, that’s… unusual. This sounds like the kind of thing that she’d order us to investigate. In fact, this sounds _exactly_ like the kind of thing that would count as “out of the ordinary” for her. If it isn’t one of us… then it has to be one of the Berserk Digimon.

I breathe in deeply and get back up straight, pulling my gun from its holster again. I’m either moving towards it or in the opposite direction, so I turn off the safety and bump the D.B.P to “medium” – better safe and ready than sorry and dead.

But as soon as I go to detach the magazine to put one of the full ones in, my ears twitch – what was that?

Heavy thuds echo in the distance, the lowest rumble of a distant crash fading as it reaches my ears. I look back – it’s coming from the direction I just came from. It’s not whatever made this trail. Not unless it somehow found mine as it traveled south.

The thuds get heavier, louder, another crash - closer but still distant - echoes from the path I just took. It’s coming towards me. Whether it’s following my trail or not, I don’t think it matters.

I look around. Obviously there’s no cover here. This is an open tundra full of this grey snow, and my blue color makes me an easy target. The blackened trees have thick trunks, I could potentially hide behind one of these but – but my trail would give me away.

I could jump under the snow. It’s thick enough to cover me – but if it has any kind of working senses aside from sight, the chances I’d be found are high, and even if not, it could just bump into me by chance. Damn it.

With no other option presented to me, I trudge forward, towards another one of the blackened trees, holstering my gun as I do so. I jump upwards, catch some of the loose bark and pull myself towards the next branch. I dig my toe claws into the bark for support as I test the branch’s strength, and then pull myself towards it when I notice it seems strong enough.

Once I am solidly on top of the branch, I look upwards, towards another patch of loose bark, and grab it to pull myself upwards again, digging in my claws a second time and hugging the trunk as best I can for support. I move towards the one branch that is directly opposite of the direction I came from, and after what feels like an excruciating eternity, I reach it.

As soon as I catch my balance, I pull out the gun again, lean against the trunk, and wait. The heavy footsteps are definitely getting louder now, although there is no third crash. I push myself more against the tree’s trunk, looking upwards and seeing that I’m very close to the top of the tree. The third crash finally comes, and I breathe in deeply – I check my gun, safety’s still off, dial still turned to medium. Do I have enough time to reload to one of the full magazines? No, that’d be too risky, if I fumble and let the magazine fall it’d be—

A fourth crash, very loud now, I peek around the corner, and see in the distance the large creature quickly running through the trail I had left behind. The fact that it is so far away and yet I can still see it somewhat clearly means that this thing is probably pretty large. Champion? Ultimate?

As it gets closer and closer, I start to huddle in more towards the trunk, and gulp down hard. It has a primarily yellow color; it seems to be a quadruped. There’s a long tail swishing behind it as it moves, with an… orange-ish tip to it? There’s two massive black things protruding directly downwards from its mouth, large enough that they reach past it. Two massively oversized canines.

I stop peeking and push my back against the tree trunk again. That can only be a SaberLeomon. Mega.

_Fuck._

I hold my gun tightly with both hands and do my best to still my panicked breathing. If that thing catches me, I’m screwed. I raise my left hand back to my earpiece, “Veemon to HQ, requesting immediate assistance.” I whisper, “Mega-level threat, I need backup, over.” My voice is cracking a little, shit, stop shaking so much damn it.

“Request acknowledged, sending immediate backup.” Gatomon’s voice comes over the earpiece only a moment later, the footsteps get closer and closer as it leaps through the snow towards me. It’s already past that tree that dropped snow on my head. It won’t be much longer now. “ETA 15 minutes, Over and Out.”

_Fifteen minutes?! Against this thing?!_

I resist the urge to groan and I look again at my right hand to see it shaking slightly. I hold my gun with both hands and take a deep breath, the steps get closer and closer, heavier and heavier. I can already hear the snow moving around it…

…But after a while, the steps get softer, slower. They’re still coming towards me, but it seems to have slowed down. It’s no longer taking leaps. After another minute, I can hear the sniffing coming from right below me. A moment of trepidation comes over me as I look downwards… I don’t really have a safe way to get down, do I? Fuck. I didn’t think this through at all.

The sniffing continues for a few more moments. Is it confused? Is it trying to find me? Maybe my trail mixed with that other trail and now it’s confused as to where I went. That’d be lucky, especially if it decides to go southward.

The sniffing stops, and a low, curious sound comes from it, way too close for comfort. A low, rumbling growl starts to emanate behind the tree, and it rises slowly, as if its head was looking upwards, towards the top of the tree I am currently on.

And then, I hear the crack, and gravity starts to do its work.

The feeling of falling comes before I fully realize what’s going on, the tree tips forward, in my direction, and I quickly see the grey-ish snow getting closer and closer. Instinctively I jump out, bracing for impact.

When I fall, it is surprisingly soft, but as I try to roll forward out of habit, I realize that I am now stuck face first in the snow. I start to scramble, moving my arms to free the snow around me as quickly as possible, before getting back up and… yeah, no, I can’t run away. Not in this snow.

I turn around to see the big ugly thing standing right on top of the tree it just felled, and before it can turn to me – before the snow has even fully drifted back to the ground – I shoot three times towards its big head. It turns towards the sound of the gun firing, and all three shots hit their mark.

It winces, closing its eyes at the impact, but then it opens them again. Its forehead begins to bleed, three streaks of deep red blood streaking across its face, it starts to growl as the blood reaches its mouth, its gaze fixed purely on me.

I whimper before looking to my gun and turning the dial to max—fuck!

I leap to the side, back into the snow as I see the yellow streak of its body moving towards me again. I do manage to roll this time, shifting the snow so I can get back on my feet and point the gun towards the massive yellow monster in front of me, it turns around as I fire – the first shot goes wide, the second hits it midleap.

I jump to the side again, but I end up stumbling backwards as I try to turn around, falling on my ass. Desperately, I fire another bullet with my blurry vision—

A searing pain hits my leg, I cry out instinctively, I can feel the metal of the gun hitting my head from the recoil as I let it go. As I open my eyes, tears already streaking down, I can see it, I can see the blood that is staining the grey snow around me. I can see the red in one of its teeth. I look down, to see that one of its saber teeth has pierced cleanly through my leg. Fuck. Fuck. _Fuck._

It gets closer, the scent of its breath gets closer to me, it smiles, it _sneers_ at me. I move my leg, but another massive jolt of pain comes from it, I scream as I the vibrations from its growling go through my thigh and my chest. Four lords no, not like this. I can’t die like this. Not after everything. Not after everything I’ve been through.

I can’t die. I can’t leave Davis behind. I can’t leave the others behind. Not like this. I can’t die. I can’t become one of these monsters. No. no. please no. please gods no don’t do this to me. please. please. _please lady luck save me one more time._

…

The impact catches him off guard, the Digimon’s hide was a lot thicker than he expected. He rolls forward, still in the air, and catches his balance, turning around as he skids in the snow, looking back towards his target. The attack had successfully dislodged the Digimon’s large tooth from the other’s leg, and it was still lying on the ground, seemingly stunned from the attack.

He reached for his holster with his left hand, cannon still held firmly in his right hand, but before he could move forward, the large monster’s form shifted, getting back to its feet with a dexterity that he was not expecting. It bled from its forehead, the three red streaks having now covered most of his face, although far enough away from its eyes that it did not impede its vision, but maybe its scent.

The creature growled and postured, but he looked at the big chunk missing from its left ear, a round hole that bled rapidly, and then he caught that the creature’s weight was uneven – he turned his attention to its left front leg, it too was missing a much smaller chunk. It wasn’t enough to cripple it, but it was enough to injure it. The rookie had done its job.

With a smirk, he stood up straight again, his smile defiant against the monster that now stood in front of him. “Come on kitten, let’s have some fun.” He raised the cannon on his right hand, almost placing it back on its holster on his back.

The taunt seemed to be enough. The oversized yellow cat leapt with all its might towards him, but the man simply dodged to his own right, taking advantage of the injured leg. The beast's metal-black claws streaked mere centimeters away from his breastplate, but with a strong arc and one mighty swing, the cannon struck the top of the monster’s head, sending it to the ground.

“You lose.” He said, not giving the monster any time to react to being flattened against the snow. He pushed his left shoulder against the butt of the cannon as he pressed the trigger on it with his right hand, the shockwave came immediately, pushing him about a meter above the ground. As he recovered his footing in the snow, having been blown back about three meters from the impact crater, he could not help but smile as the creature’s form – now flattened into a crater below the snow – started to dissipate into data.

Lifting his cannon and putting it on his back once more, he trotted towards the small blue figure on the snow. It had fallen backwards, partially buried in the grey snow that was slowly getting tinted red by its own blood. There was a massive hole in its leg, but he could still see the rookie breathing – passed out due to blood loss, no doubt, but still alive.

His fingers were on his earpiece immediately, “Phantom to HQ, I have one injured, critical condition, over.” He started. As he looked around, he could see the black metal glinting against the sunlight, only a meter or so behind the blue monster. “Take him to the infirmary Phantom, I’ll see him treated, over.” The woman’s voice responded.

The man took the little monster in his arms, slugging him over his shoulder, and took a small jump to grab the gun on the snow. He reached over to the singular pouch on the back of his hip, and with a few button presses, he was off.

September 5th, 2025  
5:35PM

The glow of the monitor filled most of the room that had been practically her home for the last two years. The quiet bubbling noise from the beaker a few meters away being the only noise made throughout the room. She flicked her white hair to the side as the monitor that was five times her size showed the results of her experiment – another failure.

She rotated the desk and got up, turning the heat down and taking the beaker in hands, placing it in a different spot. She wasn’t expecting this to work either. Nothing ever had for the last two years. But she had to try. She always did.

A low hum started to fill in the room, she turned towards it. The cylindrical glass of the machine was now completely fogged up. She gently walked towards it, the entire cylinder resting atop and connected to several wires, protruding from the table-on-wheels below it. As her hand touched it and she cleared some of the foggy glass away, she could see the little blue creature inside.

Veemon.

 _I shouldn’t be surprised that the Digimon of Miracles survived that._ She reached for the tiny monitor at the side of the machine, it read that his condition was now stable, and data reconstruction was starting. _Should I call that good fortune, or quick thinking on Gatomon’s part?_

She shook her head, it mattered little, she supposed, as she walked right back to her chair, turning back to the monitor and starting to type away at the keyboard almost as impressively sized as the monitor. If her latest experiment in finding a cure had failed, she would just need to try again. As many times as it took.

Normally, when the door to the lab opened with its “beep” and its “click”, she would rarely bat an eye, but this time, she looked over her shoulder at the door, as it slammed open with a loud “WHAM”. Instead of the short, spiky red hair, the thick eyebrows, the dark eyes and the light skin she had become used to seeing, she saw a man a bit taller, with slightly darker skin, brown eyes and a frizzy, burgundy hair. “Where is he?!” he shouted.

“Daisuke.” She said, and without batting an eye, the woman simply pointed towards the pod she had just been investigating. The man started to run across the laboratory, through the other side of the table in the center and towards the pod. Much like she had done previously, he cleared away the fogginess of the glass and peered inside, “Veemon!” he spoke, his voice breaking, “Veemon…”

“He’s still asleep, I’m afraid.” She turned to him properly now, “The process isn’t quite done yet, but he’ll be fine.” Her words did not fall on deaf ears, but Daisuke – or Davis, she supposed, as he preferred to be called – did not turn to her. As he stared quietly into the pod, small steps entered the laboratory as the door closed again.

As she looked towards them, she saw the short black hair and yellow piercing eyes of her maid. The two black boots making almost no noise as she walked with two hands joined in front of her hip, in front of her white maid’s dress that turned to black at the back. “Thank you, Ophelia.” The woman said, and Ophelia bowed in response, “Yes, Mistress.” Ophelia’s voice was metallic and robotic, but significantly less so than before. She wondered how long Ophelia could pretend to be a human if she kept from talking.

Turning her gaze back towards Daisuke, the man still peered deeply into the pod, and seeing as he had no interest in her at that moment, she turned her chair back to her keyboard, and began typing away. The sounds of her typing now filling the room as Daisuke’s breathing slowed back to normal.

She pondered for a moment; she did have samples of the virus – would they react to human antiviruses? Probably not, but seeing in how they _don’t_ react could also prove enlightening. Or it could be a waste of time. Not like she had much to lose at this point.

Her typing led to the antiviruses she was looking for, and after isolating her samples and putting them all to work simultaneously, she got up, walking to her left as a panel opened from the wall in the corner, covered by the counter that housed the main computer and most of her immediate work.

Kneeling, three small containers of reinforced glass showed up from the panel. On the leftmost side, a tiny creature with two thin, rabbit-like ears, a singular yellow eye and five clawed legs arranged almost like a human hand started to shift slightly. The Tsumemon looked towards her, blinking, before its eye closed slightly, it started to shift in place.

On the middle container, a green ball with two large eyes and a singular tooth coming out of its small mouth stared at her, the large spikes protruding from its body started trying to smash against the reinforced glass, to no avail. If the containers weren’t soundproofed, she probably would have heard it making noises of frustration or anger, especially as its leaf-like tail swayed around quickly. The Budmon’s demeanor stops eventually, as it starts looking around suspiciously, not towards her, but towards the rest of the lab.

On the rightmost container, the pink ball with two red eyes looked at her quizzically, before looking around the container that was its prison. It bumped its body against it, before opening its mouth and trying to press its small teeth against the glass, to no avail. The two long ears that protruded from the top of its head and naturally tended backwards dropped slightly. The Koromon’s eyes narrowed, looking now at her with an intensity that would be menacing if it weren’t coming from an in-training.

Her three samples’ data would now be bombarded with whatever protocols human antiviruses would do to them. She doubted it would clean them of the berserk virus, she doubted it would do much of _anything_ really, but maybe it could give her a clue that she hadn’t found in these two years of work.

“Hey.” She turned to her right, Daisuke had grabbed himself one of the Lab’s chairs, and sat next to the pod, “You’re the woman that called me, right?” She nodded, not bothering to get up yet, “Who are you, exactly?” a pause, “I just realized you were the one who called us back during the war, but I think this is the first time you and I meet face to face.”

She smiled slightly, “Not quite the first time.” She starts, getting up, “But last time, I was a part of a crowd in the middle of the throne room, so I’m not surprised you don’t remember me properly.” She walked towards her chair once again, her maid, Ophelia, quietly offering her a small plate with a cup of tea, that she gently took.

“If you ask Gatomon, I am the army’s head of R&D.” she started, crossing her legs. “If you ask my team, I’m the brains of the group.” She continued, breathing in deeply of the tea’s bittersweet smell, “If you ask Ophelia here, I’m a queen destined to rebuild her nation and bring it to glory.” A smirk.

Daisuke raised an eyebrow, probably not knowing whether to take that as a joke or not, it likely didn’t help that with her simple white shirt, pants and lab coat, she looked far from royalty. “But I’m asking you.” He answers, bluntly.

The woman chuckled in response, taking a small sip of the tea afterwards, and after exhaling in satisfaction, she turned to him again, “My name is Eve.” She started, “I’m the head of this laboratory, and the person who handles most of the technology used by the army.” A small pause, “I also ran communications during the war proper, and I handle medical treatments whenever necessary.”

Daisuke seemed impressed at first, but shook his head, “What happened to him?” he asked, “Is he going to fully recover?” Eve smiled in response, “Digimon are hardy creatures. Given enough time, they can recover from practically anything.” Another sip of her tea, “It is good that we found him as quickly as we did though. He likely would’ve died from blood loss otherwise.”

Daisuke frowned, “What happened?” and Eve sighed, “He was on patrol duty, and got ambushed by a Mega-Level Digimon.” The words make Davis’s eyes bulge, “He managed to hold his own until backup arrived. He was injured, but we brought him back here immediately.”

“Here?” Daisuke asks, although his gaze turns back to the Digimon, “I thought there was an infirmary in HQ?”

“There is, but I’m a busy woman.” Eve sipped the tea once more, placing it back in Ophelia’s hands. “After the initial treatments, I placed him in the pod and had it moved here to the lab, so I could keep an eye on him in case things took a turn for the worse, without stopping my work any further.” She smiles, “He’s very lucky. His thigh was pierced, but not teared. He’ll make a full recovery by the end of the day.”

She didn’t know if Daisuke fully understood what she meant, but he smiled all the same, “He’ll be asleep for a few more hours, you can keep him company if you want.” She turned back to the monitor, “Once he’s fully stable, you can bring him back home. I think he’s earned his rest.”

Silence falls upon the laboratory, the keys she pressed being, again, the only thing to break the full silence. She had code to write while she waited for the results.

But time passed, and she glanced sideways while she grabbed her tea back from Ophelia, Daisuke now leaned his arms on top of the glass, looking downwards towards Veemon. She knew that face. That tired face of defeat and wish to do more. Regret and guilt and a small sense of barely avoided despair. Daisuke was now stuck in his own head.

“You know.” She started, “I always found it amazing how people can adapt and survive to anything.” Davis shifted his gaze slightly towards her, and without letting her smile show, she continued, “The war took many lives. Practically every country reports at least a dozen thousand deaths.” She wasn’t about to say how every single country was grossly underestimating these numbers, “And yet, life goes on. The world stalled, but it is not dead. People change, people recover.”

This time, she does let her smile show, “I’ve always found that fascinating. How even in the worst of circumstances, people can find hope. Hope to keep fighting. Hope to keep looking forward. And even when they break, hope to pick the pieces back together and move forward again.” A deep breath, “It may take time. Years. Sometimes the source of that hope is a chance encounter.” A pause, “Sometimes, it’s much closer than you think.”

She did not turn to look at the man as he simply let out a weary sigh, “Yeah.” He answered.

September 5th, 2025  
8:38PM

I groan and start to open my eyes slightly, it is dark, and it is warm. I shift my body slightly, but I find that my arms are pinned to my sides, although whatever is doing so slackens its grip immediately afterwards.

“Oh, you’re awake.” Comes Davis’s voice, I look slightly upwards, to see him resting his chin on top of my head. As I look around, I realize that I am in his room, him sitting on the bed, with me on his lap. The lights are out, and I can feel the breeze from outside, the gentle cold wind passing through my body, but it’s not uncomfortable, Davis keeps me warm.

“…So I am.” I respond, smiling, leaning back towards him as he hugs me a bit tighter. I place my head on his chest, feeling the slow rise-and-fall of his breathing as it gently moves me back and forth. My eyelids start to feel heavy again…

“How are you feeling?” Davis asks, breaking me out of my almost-asleep state. “I hear you went against a Mega.”

Oh.

So that _wasn’t_ a particularly nasty nightmare.

“I feel fine.” I answer, looking towards my right thigh, exactly where that giant tooth had pierced me. It looked… fine? Although the scales looked weird. Davis gently lets go of me with one hand and passes his fingers through the inner side of my thigh and—

I yelp, mostly in surprise, as Davis passes his fingers through the exact center of the spot. Davis’s hand recoils, and after a moment, places it back on my thigh, higher this time, “Sorry.” He says, “She said the scales on your leg will be a bit thinner for a while. They’ll need some time to recover properly.” He exhales slightly, squeezing my thigh encouragingly, “It’ll be a bit tender for some time, but it should be fine after a couple of days.”

“Guess I got off easy.” I smile, leaning back against his chest again, “Did you carry me back home?” Davis nods in response, the arm on my belly gently moving to stroke it, “Yeah, after you were cleared.” He starts, “You were out for a few hours.” His breathing is slow and calm, and even if I can’t properly see it, I’m sure he’s smiling just from the way he talks. “Still, I’m glad you’re okay.”

“Yeah…” I raise my hand, gently stroking his upper arm with my fingers, “So am I.” I’m not sure how I’m so calm. The last thing I remember is being so deathly scared, my thoughts weren’t coherent. The pain that shot through my leg having killed all combat ability I had. And then now… I’m here. I’m back home. I guess that’s enough of a reason to be calm.

“Vee?” he asks, and while I answer with a small “Hm?” I close my eyes, breathing in deeply as I feel him start to gently caress my thigh and move his other hand to gently scratching my neck. “I wanted to ask, who’s that woman?” he starts, and after a moment, he adds, “Uh… white hair, blue eyes, all polite and formal, scientist girl?”

“Oh, that’s Eve.” I answer, “She handled communications and everything during the war. Before Gatomon took over that job.” I move my other hand to hold his arm slightly, smiling all the while. “Why the question?”

“Oh, she was watching over you while you healed in one of these… pod things.” Yeah, the recovery pods, definitely not my first time inside of one. I always found those things to be so claustrophobic. “I’m… not sure what to make of her.”

“Me neither, but I also haven’t really had much interaction with her.” His fingers move to scratching my cheek, as I start rubbing the top of my head against his neck slightly. “Or any of the people from Omega, really.”

“Omega?”

Oh bother. Of course he doesn’t know.

I purse my lips, “Well uh… the army is divided into two main groups.” I start, trying to keep this simple, “There’s Alpha Team, which is the…” I stop for a moment, “…Well, that’s us. Not exactly the usual rank and file, elites in our own right, but we’re being used as such because we… don’t have the usual rank and file anymore.” Now, how do I explain Omega?

“Team Omega is…” I click my tongue, “…Well frankly, I don’t know much about it. They’re like, the special ops team? I know they’re special somehow but don’t ask me for details.” It’s always been a bit infuriating knowing that there’s this entire group of people working with you that you could never approach and know nothing about. “That’s… as much as I can tell you, really.”

This seems to satisfy him, as he doesn’t ask anything in return. His scratching on my cheek resumes, and I carefully go back to nuzzling below his neck. His other hand moves to my belly, but before he can start to stroke it, I grab it and start caressing his palm using my thumb. He responds by gripping my hand slightly harder, as I continue to caress him just as he does to me.

This is… nice.

I’m… glad to be alive. I’m not sure what you would have done if I weren’t. You and I have always been so close, and it’s hard to imagine my life without you. Maybe I would have just been a stray, wandering the Digital World with no particular aim in my life. But then, I never could have felt like this. Not with you. And especially right now, I wouldn’t trade this moment for anything.

I was scared, y’know? Scared of dying. Scared of leaving you and everyone else behind. Scared that I might become one of these crazy Berserk Digimon. No life behind the eyes, just the intent to kill. It’s terrifying to think about. Terrifying to think that if I had died, I could have potentially killed one of my friends later down the line. Terrifying to think of what you’d have done.

Would you have accepted my death? No. Knowing you, you’d have been defiant to the last. You would have gone to find my egg, and guard it with your life until I hatched. Maybe your warmth and our connection would have prevented me from turning berserk… Maybe I would have tried to harm you on the spot. The thought scares me.

And what would have happened to your life? Would you have fallen into depression? How long would you grieve me for? Forever? Would you eventually be able to get back up and keep going? It scares me that I don’t know what makes me feel worse. The thought of you never getting back up, or the thought of you being fine without me.

It scares me to think of not being there to share your laughs. It scares me to think of not being there to help you when you feel down. It scares me to think of you lying awake at night in bed, missing the little blue dragon right beside you, staring at the ceiling aimlessly. I don’t want you to go through that Davis. I want to be here for you. We’re partners, aren’t we? I’m sorry for being so weak. I’m sorry for not being more attentive. I’m sorry for giving you this scare. I’m sorry—

I feel something cupping my chin slightly, breaking me out of my… confession? To myself. Davis pulls my head upwards slightly, gently, and looks down at me with a soft smile, his finger gently moving under my chin, massaging that little spot in my jaw before my throat. I can see the glint in his eyes, I can see him so clearly, even in the darkness. His frizzled, wild, uncontrollable hair, his dark brown eyes, that goofy smile he always wears. But now it’s different, now it’s softer, gentler, and I can see his mouth moving slightly, his tongue likely moving on the inside as he tries to find the right words to say.

I smile back, gently grabbing his wrist and stroking it with my thumb, “What’s u—”

…

A soft warmness creeps to my face, I can feel myself enveloped in it. His arm grips my back tightly, not wanting to let go, his other hand is still holding my chin, but the movement of his fingers has stopped, even as he gently pulls me upwards. I can feel his strong, desperate grip as he does this, I can feel my nose as it gently brushes against his, and I can feel the warmness that comes to my lips. The soft touch and the careful but still _needy_ press that comes towards them. I feel as Davis’s own lips part slightly as they touch mine, I see his closed eyes even in the darkness of the room.

Davis is kissing me.

_Davis is kissing me._

As he pulls back and opens his eyes, I feel myself already missing that warm touch and that little way he tried to press into me harder without hurting me. I miss the strong grip at my back. I miss his warmth and I miss him, even as he’s right in front of me.

I want this.

“I-I’m sorry I don’t—”

I grab his neck with both arms and pull him in for another, closing my eyes as I do so. That warmth is back, that hungry need is back, but now I’m not letting him go. Not for a second. Davis takes a moment, but he presses back into my lips, his own arms wrapping again around my body and pulling me tightly. His lips part slightly, his hot breath hitting my scales and my skin and making me want _more_.

His hands starts to caress my back, and I respond by moving my hand towards his cheek, gently caressing it as he rolls us on top of the bed, never breaking the kiss. I can feel his smooth skin under my fingers, my hand moving to the back of his neck, caressing his hair with my four fingers while my thumb gently moves across his cheek. Before, the warmth of his body was simply relaxing, but now, now it's _intoxicating_. I find myself wanting more, _more._

But eventually, Davis pulls back. My eyes open, a smile across my face as I see him in the darkness under a totally new light. His eyes, even half-closed, look so beautiful. His touch as he moves his hand to caress my cheek, so warm and full of life. So careful and full of love.

He smiles to me a bit more, “I think… I think we both needed this.” He starts, and I lower my head, nuzzling his neck, “Yeah…” I say, as he runs his fingers across my back again.

But my nuzzles don’t last for long, as he gently uses his other hand to lift my chin again, “…I love you Vee.” He says, with a smile full of life and wonder and beauty, and eyes so full of passion and… love.

I… I guess this is really happening.

I place a quick peck on his lips, “I love you too, Davis.” It felt so easy to say, so natural, so different than the other times I had said it. Back then, it was jokingly, or brotherly, as a friend, as a partner. But now it’s different. I… I think I’m ready for this. I’m not fully sure how we got here. But I’m ready. I want this.

And from Davis’s tight hug, pulling me closer and resting his forehead against mine, from his smile, I can tell he wants this too.


	3. New Normal

September 6th, 2025  
6:34AM

I regain my consciousness, but before I open my eyes, I can already feel it, the fingers gently moving down my back, the rhythmic movement of the breathing that carries my head with it, the soft noise of the heartbeats, the comfortable heat against the slightly chilly air outside making me relax and pull the blankets a little tighter around my body. A tiny kiss is placed on top of my head, as I feel the fingers run through my tail, playing slightly with the tip.

I can feel the one finger twirl around the tip of my tail, playing with it gently and slowly, the warm, comfortable breath that reaches my head as he places another kiss on top of it. I curl my tail around his finger after a bit, holding it gently, and he responds by running his thumb through the tip of my tail, caressing it.

“Good morning sleepyhead.” Davis says, guess I’m caught, huh. “Hmm… Good morning…” I feel so comfortable like this, like I could enjoy this peace forever. I hug him tightly, before opening my eyes. With fall having just started – or maybe starting in a few weeks? I always get these confused – the sunlight streaking in through the window is still low enough that my eyes don’t quite start to hurt when I open them, and I can see Davis’s eyes once again, smiling at me, just as full of life and as real as they were yesterday.

“Sleep well?” Davis asks, moving his other hand to gently caress my face, “Very.” I respond, leaning into his touch a bit, “It was the best night’s sleep I’ve had in a long time.” I smile, and he lets out a small giggle, “That makes two of us, then.”

I chuckle internally, and lower my head to give his neck a small kiss, “Vee…” he starts, twirling one of my ears around his finger, “I know this might sound stupid but…” I look up to him, raising my eyebrow, I can see the little movements his mouth makes as he tries to grasp for the right words. He scratches his cheek with his other hand before continuing, “…Does that mean we’re boyfriends now?”

“I… hadn’t really thought of that.” I answer, raising my head and picking myself up, sitting on his chest, careful not to put too much weight on him, “I guess it does, doesn’t it?” I ask, I’m honestly not sure. I’ve never really had a… boyfriend, so to speak. Or a girlfriend, for that matter. That kind of stuff has always been so far out of my mind before now. The closest thing I’ve ever had to that was…

…Well, Davis, I guess.

“I think so?” Davis asks, smiling, “Man, this is completely new territory for me.” His chuckle is awkward, embarrassed, and I can see his cheeks growing slightly red. I’m pretty sure he’s had the odd girlfriend or two in his years, so… “With a Digimon, you mean?” I ask.

His eyes grow a little wider, both of his eyebrows raise, he’s surprised. “Well, I mean, yeah.” He answers, then shifts his gaze a bit to the side again, “But… also a guy.” Right. Humans have these weird hang ups about this stuff. “But it… shouldn’t be too different, should it?”

I shake my head, still smiling, “Not really, no.” Well, I can’t exactly say from _relationship_ experience, but people are just people in the end. Davis seems to be thinking about something for a while, still scratching his cheek, although some of his blush has faded. His gaze turned to the open window, a gust of wind coming through it and – Four Lords but it _is_ chilly outside.

Instinctually, I hold both of my arms together, huddling for warmth within my own body. But very quickly, I feel the warm embrace of the blankets again, and Davis raises them over my shoulders, covering me with them even as I sit on top of him. “There, that should be better.” He smiles, and I can feel him shifting his legs to accommodate his feet under the blanket again, “Yeah, much better.” I answer.

“Still…” Davis looks to the ceiling, “…What happens now?” He asks, and I raise my eyebrow, “I’m not quite sure what you mean?”

“I mean, if we’re boyfriends, and we live together, does that mean we gotta start doing… y’know… uh…” No, Davis, I don’t know what you mean. “…couple things? Like I don’t know, wearing matching sweaters and drinking chocolate together while we watch a bad movie or something?”

He’s not looking me in the eyes for some reason, and he is blushing slightly more, but I smile back nonetheless, “Davis, I don’t wear clothes.” And he pouts back in my direction, his eyes narrow and annoyed at me, “Well, I know, but you know what I mean!”

I shake my head, “You’re talking to a Digimon, Davis. I have a suspicion that relationships are different between Digimon when compared to Humans.” I laugh, and despite his clear annoyance, he cracks a smile as well. “I don’t exactly know what you humans do when you’re as couples.” Well, I do, actually. Davis did bring the occasional girlfriend home over the years. “But honestly, I don’t think much has to change.”

He raises his eyebrow, “Like, we’ve been living together for what… twenty years now?” I say, “We were already close before all of this. I don’t think much has to change at all. So long as we’re enjoying each other.”

I smile, a mischievous thought entering my mind, “Plus…” I lower my body, sliding it backwards so I lay down on top of him again, “Just because I can do this now…” I say, coming closer, pressing a quick peck to his lips.

“…Doesn’t mean I can’t also do this!”

My hands quickly reach for his armpits, my fingers immediately digging into his skin as Davis reflexively closes his arms around them, but it’s already too late. “Veemon!” he lets out, doing his best to keep his voice down despite his surprise, and failing miserably. My fingers squirm and touch his sensitive armpits as I look at him with a gleeful smile.

Both of his arms lift to try and touch my own armpits, but my position makes that almost impossible for him. “You little…” he lets out, lower this time, but his laughter is loud, and he immediately responds by using what little power he can get in his elbows to propel him forward.

I roll to the side, out of him, my hands slipping out of his armpits in the process, not to worry, his belly is also ticklish so—

Oh no.

As I feel him grabbing my ankle, turning to me with a devilish smile on his face, I can tell I have made a horrible mistake. Our eyes lock for a split second, and then—

“No!” I let out a cry in laugher as his own fingers dig into my foot, “Not the feet! Not the feet!” I instinctively try to kick him with both the foot he’s holding and the other one, but both of my legs hit nothing but air as he has put a decent distance between his body and my feet, letting his fingers do all of the work. Damn it, he’s learned from the other tickle wars!

“I gotta teach you a lesson.” He answers, smiling and laughing himself, as I kick at his hand that is holding my ankle steady, my laughter only grows as his fingers dig a bit harder under the soft scales of my foot. I gotta do something!

I prop myself up on my elbows, although being so close to the edge of the bed, my right elbow isn’t exactly in the best position. I push against the bed as best I can, reaching for his neck. His eyes bulge a little as he sees me do this, his fingers instinctively stopping their work as both of his hands raise to stop me. My fingers get close to his neck, enough to touch, but he does manage to hold my wrists, stopping me from actually using them to their best ability.

“Stop!” he cries, tears of laughter in his face, and as he pushes against me to try to stop me, I push back, my superior strength gaining me inch by inch on him, great, now it’s time for my revenge!

But just as my fingers start to dig into his neck to give him the tickling of his lifetime, the door opens suddenly. Jun, still in her pajamas, looks towards us with a grumpy expression, “It’s not even seven in the morning.” She starts, “Can you two keep it down?”

I look towards Davis for a moment as his laughter starts dying down and pull my hands back. He smiles to me for a second, a smile that says something like “sorry, buddy”. Lucky bastard. Saved by the sister.

“Yeah, sorry, we’ll keep it down.” Davis says, and Jun breathes in deeply, looking towards us with that same grumpy expression that, after a moment, turns into a smile, “So, who won the tickle fight this time?”

I look towards Davis again, and we both blink in unison at the sudden question. Come to think of it, I… I don’t think I remember seeing her smile recently.

But as I’m contemplating that fact, Davis turns to his sister, “I did.” He says, in full confidence, hey!

“Oh, really?” Jun crosses her arms, raising an eyebrow with a cocky smile, “Because from what I saw, you were about to get destroyed by Veemon before I walked in.” Davis’s false smile fades entirely as he hears what Jun has to say, and I smile towards him once more, “Yeah, I think I win this one.”

Davis responds by showing me his tongue again, and for the first time in a while, I can hear Jun laugh in response. “I’ll go get dressed and get you guys some breakfast.” She says, “Although Veemon, you should probably get going soon, it’s almost seven.”

I look upwards, the clock reads 6:57AM. Yeah, I should probably get going soon.

Still, as Jun closes the door, leaving us to our privacy a little, I finally let go of Davis’s wrists as he starts chuckling and laughing under his breath, and after a moment, I start to do the same. Man, how long has it been since we’ve had a tickle fight? Months, at this point? It certainly has been a while. I missed this. I missed doing silly stuff like this with Davis. It feels nice to do it again. This nostalgic, comfortable feeling.

“See?” I ask, turning to him, “Nothing has to change.” I smile again, as his laughter finally dies down. He looks at me with his smile, and in a moment, holding my chin again with his hand, he pulls me back in for a quick kiss, the warmth of his lips lingers for just a second before he pulls away, “Well, not _nothing_.” He smiles again, “This is too good to not become common.”

I smile back, “Well…” I approach again, placing a longer, deeper kiss into his lips. His lips part slightly again, and I push more into it in reaction, I feel some of my teeth lightly tap against his, and pull back immediately – yeah, I’m going to need to get better at this – and his warmth lingers in our parting lips, I say “I thought that was a given.” With a giant smile on my face.

After just a single moment looking at me, he hugs me tightly again, “Moron.” He says, and I nuzzle his chest affectionately, “Doofus”.

September 6th, 2025  
7:04AM

The red dragon walked down the metallic hall of Headquarters, as he did every day. His steps were heavy, he wasn’t as tired as he usually was at this time of morning – even if he wasn’t particularly bad at waking up early, he did use to get less sleep than this – but despite the small blessing of a longer night’s rest, he still sighed.

Gatomon had just given him an insane assignment – patrolling half of the D-Sector all by himself. He shook his head, a part of him told him that it was because he had been stationed in the D-Sector during the war, and Gatomon found the request reasonable because of his familiarity with the forest. A slightly meaner part of him, at the back of his mind, though that Gatomon was really stupid if that was actually the reasoning she used.

His long tail swished behind him in frustration as he quietly used one of his long claws to scratch the Digital Hazard symbol on his chest. With the other hand, he pushed a door to his left open, he had not had breakfast in his rush out of the house, so his first priority was to get his rations for the day out of his locker.

But as Guilmon opened the door, on one of the metal benches at the corner of the room, he saw a small, white creature laying down on its belly. Its ears perked up as it looked upwards to see him arrive, its pale-yellow eyes blinking twice in surprise, “Oh.” It started, the orange-red mohawk moving as his head tilted slightly to the side, “Not often I get to see someone else here.”

Gomamon gave a weary smile, as he lifted his head that had been resting on both of his front flippers. “Fancy meeting you here, Guilmon.” He started. Guilmon closed the door behind him as he entered, “Good morning, Gomamon.” The red dragon replied, moving towards his locker. “It’s funny, I think this is the first time in weeks I actually see someone in the locker room with me.”

Gomamon shrugged, “There’s only so many of us, and we work at different times of day.” He started, hopping off of the bench, “It can’t be helped, I suppose.”

“Still, you were just lying down there.” Guilmon chuckled as he moved his paw to the locker and the scanner, “Was the assignment she gave you that bad?” he asked, the locker giving a satisfying _click_ as it opened. “Yeah, pretty bad.” Gomamon answered, “Have to patrol the C-Sector by myself.” Despite his words, the white seal still smiled.

“That is… well, it’s not that bad, is it?” Guilmon asked, the big utility belt the only thing inside of his locker, “I mean, C-Sector’s just a lake, and you’re a natural swimmer.”

Gomamon shook his head, “Well, that’s true, but it’s more than just the lake.” He started, still smiling, “There’s a bunch of underwater caves that also count. I know for a fact some of them are quite long.” He sat next to the dragon now, his head tilting to the other side, both eyebrows raised, “Even if I can hold my breath for thirty minutes, it’s still a risk.”

“Damn.” Guilmon answered, reaching out to the Utility Belt and grabbing it with both paws, “So you’re dreading work today? Is that why you were laying down?” he asked.

“Partially.” Gomamon smiled, “Partially because I’m just feeling a little lazy today.” He laughed, “Don’t let Gatomon know I said that though.”

Guilmon laughed, “Oh I won’t.” he answered, pushing the locker closed, “I imagine you could tell things about me for days if I did.” He turned towards the seal, who had a giant grin in his face in response, “Oh yes, I could. How could I forget that time when—”

 _“Stop._ ” Guilmon answered, more annoyed than anything. It wasn’t the first time Guilmon had caught Gomamon slacking. Still, crossing the seal wouldn’t just be cruel, he was a _phenomenal_ gossip, somehow always knowing how to be in the right place at the right time to witness the most embarrassing situations from everyone, although he imagined a big part of that was because he was _also_ a huge prankster.

Gomamon raised both of his front flippers, “Alright, alright.” His giant smile still plastered on his face. “Don’t want to get the big dragon here mad at me or anything.” He lowered himself back down, laying on his front flippers again. Guilmon sighed, shook his head, and then placed his Utility Belt around his belly, trying to hold both ends with each paw and turning around to hold the back steady against the locker.

It was at that point that the door opened once again. Both the seal and the dragon looked towards it to see the familiar sight of the short blue creature walking inside. He hummed a little tune that seemed improvised, and as he closed the door behind him, he turned towards both Guilmon and Gomamon, “Oh, hi.” He said, a giant smile across his face, “Looks like the lockers are crowded today.”

“Good morning, Vee.” Guilmon started, “Morning’” Gomamon continued, and as Veemon approached his own locker on the opposite end of the room, he continued to hum his little improvised tune, even as he put his hand on the scanner and started grabbing his things. “You’re looking happy today.” Gomamon continued.

“Oh?” Veemon said, a _click_ sound, followed by a sliding sound coming out of his locker, “Well, I suppose I am happy today.” He continued, the sliding sound repeated in reverse, alongside the click. Guilmon tried to put both ends of his belt together, but this was always awkward due to his lack of thumbs, even if his had been made with that in mind.

“Something nice happen?” Guilmon asked, “Gatomon give you an easy job?” Gomamon continued, and Veemon laughed in response, “More of the former than the latter, really.” He said, “I got saddled with—” he put on his belt around his waist “—patrolling the D-Sector today. Eastern half.” A small pause, “Routine mission, same as always.” He let out a small “heh” as he placed the second part of his belt over his shoulder, locking it all in place.

Guilmon raised his eyebrow, “That’s weird.” He started, “She told me to handle the western half.”

“Oh, that means we can do both halves together, right?” Veemon asks, without a single moment of hesitation, holstering the black metal gun and checking the pouches on the belt. “She shouldn’t complain if we get both done.” His smile grows a bit wider as he keeps checking.

“That sounds like double the work for both of you.” Gomamon quipped, but Veemon simply turned towards him, “Oh come on, it will be fun, we get to talk all day while we walk.” He smiled, turning then to Guilmon, “Whaddya say, Guil? It’s been a while since we’ve spent a day together.”

At the back of his mind, Guilmon could only think of it as a terrible idea. It was double the work, double the walking, double the time of an already incredibly long patrol route. Plus, if he and Veemon talked, they definitely would end up missing _something_ important while they were distracted. And their noise could attract more of the Berserk to their location. There was no logical way where this decision made any sense.

“Oh, do you need some help?” Veemon asked, approaching as he clipped his earpiece on, “Here, lemme help.” He continued, grabbing both ends of Guilmon’s belt and locking them together effortlessly, “There we go.” He continued, then looked back to Guilmon’s eyes, “So, what do you say?”

And as he looked at that smile, Guilmon could remember the chance meeting they had all those years ago in the digital world. Veemon’s cheery attitude back then just as infectious as it is now, how Veemon invited him to his favorite spot, how they laughed and chased each other around. How they mock wrestled each other to the ground. Their friendship had been a fast one, and over the years, it had continued just as intense as that first day. Guilmon struggled to remember any _bad_ memories he had from the days he and Veemon were together. Even during the war, Veemon was always the one to try and keep the mood light, and they still engaged in mock wrestling matches even during their work hours. The war might have killed what little naiveté Guilmon still had, and it might have dimmed some of the light inside of Veemon, but it didn’t douse the fires of their relationship. Even when Guilmon hadn’t met him casually for months, Guilmon still missed the blue dragon.

Guilmon was lucky, then, that the little rational voice at the back of his head wasn’t very loud.

“Sure, let’s go.” He answered, “Being together sounds like it will make the walk a lot more fun.” A smile, “We’ll not even notice time passing, just like old times.”

Veemon chuckled under his breath, “Just like old times.”

“Well fellas, I’m afraid I can’t exactly go with you two.” Gomamon said from behind Veemon, moving into both of the dragons’ field of view. “My assignment’s someplace else.” He continued, smiling, “Still, I hope you two have a good day together.” He continued, raising his head in a goodbye wave.

“Yeah, see you later Gomamon.” Guilmon said, “Yeah, see you.” Veemon’s voice was still happy and content.

“I’ll catch you folks later.” Gomamon said, and with a wink, his body quickly dispersed into data particles that disappeared in a brief flash.

“Well, shall we?” Veemon asked, and as Guilmon looked back to him, he saw Veemon already holding his communicator in hands – Guilmon would never understand why some of them were forced to deal with the hassle of a physical device, while him, Gomamon and a few others had the privilege of having the same functions hard coded into their bodies. The procedure hadn’t even been that uncomfortable.

Well, it did give him a migraine for a few days, so maybe that’s part of why.

Guilmon nodded, Veemon started typing on his communicator “Just remember to pick area 1 so we don’t get separated.” Guilmon said with a chuckle, and Veemon rolled his eyes in response, still smiling. Veemon’s body started breaking up into data particles, and with another flash, he was gone.

Guilmon simply had to concentrate a bit, to feel that small part of his brain that had been connected to the functions given by the communicators. It wasn’t quite as simple as just thinking about it, but feeling at the back of his mind – the connection, finding area D-1 choosing it for teleportation was never a particularly hard process. Not after he got the hang of it.

He felt the confirmation come to him, and after one more thought, he was off to another day at work, although it likely wouldn’t be a typical day, by any means.


	4. Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As mentioned in the notes on the first chapter, part of this fanfiction will be about tying loose ends from prior arcs and expand on the setting itself. This chapter focuses entirely on that aspect of the fanfiction, so be forewarned.

September 6th, 2025  
9:23AM

He opened his eyes, but saw no light, his body hurt, but the pain was dull, he moved his arms to his side, but they were blocked. He tried lifting his knees, flexing his legs, but found them too, to be blocked, a small “thud” sound as they hit what felt like cold glass quickly. He breathed in deeply and sighed. With so little movement and the pain around his body, he knew exactly where he was.

One of the infirmary’s recovery pods.

It was a familiar place for him to be, how many times had he been injured in combat? How many times was he put into one of these claustrophobic cylinders? How many times had he woken up in this exact situation?

And to think, he’d be back to doing exactly that again.

He pressed his forehead against the pod’s glass, exhaling deeply, clenching his fists and closing his eyes. He was back. The pain throughout his entire chest was proof of that. He coldness of the glass against his face was proof of it. The comparative comfort of the pod’s cushions was proof of it. He was back.

Back _home._

The decompression sound made him raise one of his eyebrows, he laid his head back again, to see the glass slowly moving upwards, granting him space and a way out. The dark glass covered what little light came from outside, his eyes hurt even through the weak lighting. He blinked several times to try and see what was in front of him.

“It’s good to see that you’re awake.” The female voice came, as the glass gently stopped moving at the top of its arc. He turned to his left, seeing the white silhouette sitting next to him. “It has been a while since we’ve met in person, hasn’t it?” She asked. His vision was still blurry, but he could imagine her smiling.

He tried to get up, but immediately felt the hands on his shoulder, gently pressing him back down, “Not yet, no.” she started, “You might be out of danger, but you’re not going to get up _this_ soon.” A pause, “I know how you work.”

He breathed in deeply, running his hand through his black hair, as his vision finally cleared, he saw the shoulder-length, well groomed and well-maintained white hair in front of him. The two blue eyes showing an amount of empathy that he had rarely seen from the woman. Her lithe body and scrawny arms, despite their appearance, still held him down firmly. Unlike what he was used to seeing though, she wore the blandest possible white shirt and white pants, although he noticed that she did also wear white gloves.

“Eve.” He started, “How long was I out?”

“A week.” She lets his shoulders go as he let himself fall back down to the pod, “Well, maybe a bit more at this point.” Her smile grew a bit wider, and she sat down again. He didn’t see either her maid Ophelia or her butler Oberon anywhere. “I lost contact with you for a bit before I found you.”

“Figures.” He answered, still ruffling his own hair, a slight groan in pain escaping his throat, “How bad was it?”

A sigh, “Do you really want to know?” she asked, and he shook his head, “No, but I kind of have to, don’t I?” he answered. Eve smiled a little, giggling under her breath. He didn’t know what she found so funny.

“I found you with a giant hole in your chest.” She started, and despite her words, her smile was almost… apologetic? “Your spine was shattered, and that’s to say nothing of the damage to the rest of your insides.” A pause, “There were other problems as well. Bruises. Burns. Piercing wounds the size of pinpricks. Pretty sure I saw a few sword slashes as well.” She tapped her foot a few times. “But the giant hole in your chest was the big one.”

As he finally looked down on his own body to inspect it, he could see the multiple bandages covering his entire upper body, how they even wrapped around to his shoulder, where the needles hit most deeply, all the way through his upper arm, where the blunt trauma was the roughest, and towards his wrist, where he remembers almost having his hand cut off by that sword emblazoned by seven stars.

His left shoulder was also covered, he could feel it slightly tender, the searing pain coming back to him in a flash of memory, and disappearing just as quickly. If he looked hard enough, he could imagine the blackened burns that must have been there, darkening his tan skin to charcoal. He was amazed now that he looked at how little was the damage to his left arm otherwise – were they specifically aiming for his dominant hand?

He tried to curl his toes in and wiggle his fingers. They still functioned, thankfully. The lower part of his body still hurt a bit, but he couldn’t see it very well – his vision was still slightly darkened, and the black glass covered the light that would be hitting them otherwise.

“Sacchi.” Eve started, looking towards him, “I’m going to be blunt – you should be dead.” A pause, “If you had been a Digimon, your situation would make sense. Digimon are just code, and I can rewrite code. With time, I can bring them back from anything besides deletion.”

“But you’re not.” She continued, “You’re a human. Humans don’t _survive_ the kind of damage you took. I don’t care how much divine providence or sheer stubbornness you have. Your body is still fragile.” She narrowed her eyes, inspecting his expression, “Not only should you be dead. But despite all of the damage you took… You’re going to be fine.” A pause, “Your spine was shattered and yet I was able to reconstruct it with zero issues. You had an entire chunk of your body missing, but running you through what processes I could to recover and replicate tissue and organs was quick and relatively uncomplicated.”

“Isn’t this normal for you?” Sacchi asked, a little sarcastically, “You’ve gotten me through other such situations before. Aren’t you queen and goddess of all things science? Biology and medicine very much included?” He exhaled in frustration. In the back of his mind, he knew he was being unfair to her.

Eve pinched the bridge of her nose, sighing deeply, before she crossed her arms and continued, “Yes, I may be a _goddess_ of all forms of scientific fields.” A pause, “But that’s exactly what I am. A scientist and a doctor. I am not a miracle worker.”

“Literally all of humankind would disagree with you on that.”

“ _Sacchi._ ” She exhaled, “ _You should be dead._ ” Her tone brokered no compromises and no rebuttals, “ _What happened?_ ”

_I can give you another chance._

The cold of the void crept back into his mind, that endless expanse equally as beautiful and as terrifying as before. He remembered the presence, that voice that invaded his mind and reverberated through his entire being, like if it each word had been spoken by a different part of his body.

_I can let you keep going._

He remembered how tiny he felt. How tiny the world he was in felt. He saw the tininess of Earth and of Sol, of the entire Solar System and of the entire Milky Way. In the back of his mind, he could instinctually name each and every single point of light in the distance, every single star and planet and entire constellations, despite how they all looked practically microscopic in scale.

_You just need to give me your word._

What broke him was when he noticed how tiny his entire universe looked. How expansive and vast the void of everything around him was. If each star in the sky of Earth had been an entire universe, it still wouldn’t be a fraction of a fraction of the vastness of what he was witnessing. His mind desperately trying to shut down, desperately trying to grant him relief from the vastness of it all. And at every turn, being denied.

_Among all of this, you are tiny, insignificant._

He remembered gazing upon that green dreamscape of formless matter. Separate and yet inextricably tied to the countless universes he was now witnessing. How each and every moment in that dreamscape looked more and more surreal. Even in its vastness, he could gaze upon the impossibility of it all. How he saw ancient trees on a gloaming shore before an endless emerald horizon, how he gazed upon a sea of violence of those tormented by heavy consciousnesses, a wine-dark sea so thoroughly tainted one had to wonder if there was even any water left at all. How these dreams shaped and unraveled and reshaped themselves into new forms, how a giant spider of sixteen ivory legs suddenly took upon a sign to advocate for the rights of its brethren, or how a man who grew tired of walking on his feet so he turned them into arms, before growing self-conscious about walking on his own hands. Or how he saw someone digging an obsidian-black mountain so the dirt could douse the flames of an indigo fire, how the mountain grew smaller as they dug, how they turned to throwing their clothes when the mountain was no more, how they woke before the dream went any farther.

_Insignificant… and powerless._

He gazed upon the orange-yellow light beyond the dreamscape, how it was just as formless, yet holding infinite potential within it. And then, he gazed upwards, and saw nothingness. Not a star or a galaxy or an entire universe in sight, not a gaze of the shallow green dreamscape or the orange-yellow place of infinite potential. Emptiness, pure, colorless, _infinite_ emptiness.

So what terrified him most was when he felt something from that emptiness, a desire, a will, a thought. How his mind recoiled at the mere idea of gazing upon this emptiness so complete, it made the vastness of outer space pale in comparison. He could feel so much and yet so little from that darkness, he knew how there was supposed to be nothing in that direction, and yet how that entire place was filled to the brim and to bursting with thought and intent. He felt himself gasp, air as deep and as cold as frostbite entering his lungs, as he saw the tiny cracks show through that vast emptiness, how they pointed towards the place with infinite potential, or how they invaded the dreamscape.

Or how they came to rest upon one of the many universes.

_I can give you power to fight. Power to truly be something in this empty infinity._

He turned his head, the voice had come from behind him, just as much as it had come from below him, just as much as it had come from within him. The voice felt somehow closer now. More powerful and present than ever before. It asked little. It promised much. He knew full well that this was a bad idea – to listen to a formless voice promising him power and asking so _little_ in return? The deal was very clearly stacked in his favor, _dangerously_ so.

_So… do you accept?_

And yet, what other choice did he have? The only other option was to leave it all behind. To give up. To allow himself to die and be one with the nothingness of death. To do that would be to ignore all of the pain and the sacrifice that he had already gone through, to ignore all of the blood and the tears shed by those he failed, to see the world suffer because _he_ was too weak to keep going. Every life lost because of this decision would be blood on _his_ hands.

And so he remembered clenching his fists and scrunching his face, baring his teeth and taking sharp breaths as his body shook, not with the voice’s presence this time, but with sheer anger and regret. As he finally exhaled, as he finally opened his eyes and as the tears finally cleared from his face, he asked – “Who are you?”

He could feel the satisfaction.

“Sacchi.” He heard Eve’s voice again, this time less stern and angry, “What happened?”

He shook his head, the coldness of the void still lingering in the back of his mind. “I don’t know, Eve.” He replied, turning his gaze to the ceiling and sighing, “…I don’t know.”

He didn’t need to look to know of the gears turning inside of her mind, she knew he was lying, he could tell. She had always been good at reading people, after all. The extent to what she knew, he supposed, was irrelevant – knowing her, she’d find out eventually. That little voice of reason in the back of his mind told him to tell her as much as he could, of the voice, of the pact he had signed, of the visions. But there was this creeping dread in his throat, that feeling that if she told him, what little innocence he still had would break apart, that it would slam open a door of chaos and responsibilities that he was not yet ready for.

“What happened in these last two years?” He asked, gaze still turned upwards. Eve took a moment to respond, pursing her lips as her gaze slackened, “Simultaneously too much and too little.” She started.

He looked towards her as she exhaled, rubbing her eyes in a moment of both frustration and annoyance, whether at him or at something else, he couldn’t tell. “…I assume you still remember how the world was before you joined the army, back in 2020?”

“Before you kidnapped me, you mean.”

Eve’s eyes narrowed, the response came involuntarily, Sacchi wasn’t even sure why he said it. Of course he still resented her for it, but he still had decided to stick with the war, even when given the chance to—

His breath caught in his throat for a moment. No. Not now. He would deal with that _later_ , but not _now._

“Yes, before I kidnapped you.” She answered, “Well… things are like that, but worse.” A pause, “The world has, effectively, come to a standstill, even when you ignore the incalculable amounts of property damage… so many lives were lost.” She exhaled sharply, “No progress is being made. Nowhere. The world isn’t just in mourning, it’s practically in stasis.”

“How many?” Sacchi asked, “How many died?”

Eve shook her head, a sympathetic smile on her face, “You don’t want to know.” She answered. “Regardless, the Human World will stay like this until something is done, something drastic.”

Sacchi narrowed his eyes, Eve rolled hers in exasperation, “My _intent_ is to rebuild the Digital World first, save the Digimon from their berserk state, create a cure, allow this vibrant world to rebuild itself.” A smile, “…And then, once we’ve done enough, to bring the Digimon to the Human World, to have them breathe new life into the world.” A pause, “They’ll help humanity rebuild, new life will spring forth from what remains of the Human World, and we will help it flourish, by having such disparate peoples work together.”

“That sounds insane.” Sacchi replied, “Do you really think people will _allow_ Digimon to help them? Eve, the Berserk were _the reason so much destruction happened in the first place._ ”

Despite his tone, despite his gritted teeth, Eve raised both eyebrows, still smiling, “They won’t have much of a choice, will they?” she starts, “The greedy will see them as easy labor, those who need the help won’t be able to say no, and as for everyone else… They’ll come around.” A pause, “When they see that the Digimon intend only to help, they’ll come around.”

“Eve.” Sacchi started, but she raised her hand, “I know, I know, it’s not that simple. We will have to fight fearmongering and propaganda, we will have to make sure that none of the Digimon turn violent, we will have to do everything in our power to lower people’s fears of what happened, and Digimon will never be truly accepted by society until the war is but an entry in a history book.” She smiled again, “Do you think I haven’t thought of that? Don’t worry, integrating Digimon into society will be the _easiest_ part of this process.”

He sneered at her, and her smile turned gentle instead of smug, “Sacchi, I know you think of me as if I had no empathy.” She started, “But… There are things that must be done. Worlds to rebuild, lives to save, connections to create. You’ve seen how close the digidestined are to their Digimon. Wouldn’t you want all of humanity to be able to experience that kind of connection?”

He exhaled in frustration, and pushed himself up by his elbows, sitting on the pod and turning to the side. Unlike before, Eve did not try to stop him, simply crossing her arms, “You really should stay in the pod longer.” She remarked, and Sacchi got up, not looking at her, “I have much to do, loose ends to tie up – you said I’d be fine, didn’t you?”

“You will.” Eve said, “Your body will heal, in time. Your little enhancements should make it a lot faster than normal.” A pause, “Still slower than the pod, though.”

“I don’t care, I hate these things.” He continued, before finally turning to her again, “Where are my clothes?”

Eve, without pause, snapped her fingers together, and the white clothed, yellow eyed robot maid Ophelia appeared in a small flash of light before Sacchi, his clothes neatly wrapped in a small, midnight-blue colored bundle, his two swords resting upon it. He took them in hands, laying both swords on to the pod, before starting to dress.

His body still felt the dull pain as the clothed himself fully. His legs did not hurt as much as he expected them to, he could walk with only mild discomfort, but he probably shouldn’t exert himself too much – even at rest, his chest still hurt.

When he finally finished dressing, his shirt, his short robes, his shoes and tight pants, he reached for the two swords. He took out the first, unsheathing it, seeing the slightly curved blade show his reflection, his sad and irritated brown eyes gazing back at him, just as they did on the first day he ever pulled this blade.

He placed the first sword on the left of his hip, and the second at its back, feeling the slight crackle of electricity as the sheath’s stealth functions activated. “Sacchi?” Eve said, and he instinctually looked back at her, a small smile on her face. “Welcome home.”

September 6th, 2025  
2:32PM

Crouching into the bush, he looked around quickly, back, forward, left, right, no one around, on one following him, good. He leapt away from the bush, his low stance maintained even though he was alone, he stuck to the shade of the trees, his dark color would help with the camouflage in the darkness.

Going into all fours, he broke out into a full sprint, his front and black claws digging into the soft soil, he needed to be careful not to lose his footing. He leapt over a fallen tree, preserving as much momentum as possible, he was annoyed at making so much noise, but he needed to be fast, at least for this stretch.

Another leap, he breathed in deeply as he ran, no particular scents – good. A twitch of his ears to the side, a fallen branch no doubt, keep moving, keep running, he was almost there.

When the tree line finally broke and his destination finally came into view was when he allowed himself to slow down, turning his full sprint into a trot, into a two-legged walk. It felt so familiar to him, and yet so bittersweet, to gaze upon that dark blue floor again, those large, colorless metallic walls that rose several meters above the ground, and yet always lower than the tree line around the structure. The vast space inside, the emptiness of it all.

Machine Pit.

He scratched his white belly a little, his long tail swishing in anxiousness and anticipation. How long had it been since he last came here? Probably since the war began. He had no time back then. Technically, he has no time now either. But he should be fine. They won’t call him MIA for a while yet. Omega as he was, the army gave him some leniency with his work. He was glad for that.

It let him sneak away from their sensors like this. So long as he kept that little sensor ping at the back of his mind in check, they’d never know where he was.

And so, as he approached, he could feel it coming, but it still startled him, the sirens blaring and the enormous impact that followed, his eyes opened, all the muscles in his body flexed, his instincts told him to _run_ , but he didn’t, he forced himself to stand ground. Beyond him were countless mega-level Digimon, an entire army of ground and flying Digimon, each and every single one of them powerful enough to annihilate him with one strike.

But he knew. He knew they wouldn’t. Machine Pit was a defensive mechanism. If he never took another step forward, they would leave him alone.

And so, with a deep breath, the black dragon bellowed – “FANGLONGMON!”

He could hear his own deep voice echoing across the enormous opening left by Machine Pit. If there were still birds in the Digital World, they probably would’ve been startled away. The Mega Digimon did not budge an inch – not a single one of the hundreds and hundreds of mindless killing machines moving away or reacting to his shout.

And yet, even as his eyes glazed over the sea of monstrosities before him, he could hear it. If he strained his ears, he could hear the soft hum of the elevator deep in the very center of the structure, the minutes passed by as it moved, and afterwards, came the booming steps, small earthquakes, each and every one of them.

As they came, each one of them told every single fiber of his being to run, to hide, to digivolve and flee, it took his sheer strength of will and what little logic was allowed into his predator instincts to remind him that Fanglongmon was not aggressive. Not undeservingly. Not towards him.

Eventually, he could gaze upon it, the golden ore that covered their entire body, each one a pinprick of protection and pain, their elongated snout and their two piercing, golden eyes. The two elongated horns that pointed backwards, and curved upwards towards the skies, their segmented carapace, sporting six massive spikes that curved inwards, the long tail with the pointed arrowhead tip, as deadly as the massive claws on each of their four legs. Fanglongmon passed through the army of Megas that guarded the southern entrance of Machine Pit, each one of them granting them passage, like a sea that had been parted for them only.

“Megidramon.” They spoke, before they even reached the entrance, “Or should I call you BlackGuilmon in this form?” Fanglongmon’s voice was without malice or sarcasm, without interest or fondness, their expression never changed, not even when they finally stopped in front of the entrance, their massive body easily twenty times the size of the black dragon. Maybe more.

“Megidramon is fine.” BlackGuilmon answered, “I need to speak to The Prophecy.” The blunt request did not make Fanglongmon show a change in expression – “You do realize what you’re asking for, yes?”

“I am asking to speak to the Digital World’s very own God, yes.” The black dragon replied, huffing, “Not like it would be the first time I did it.” A moment of contemplation came and went, and much like always, Fanglongmon’s expression did not change. “Megidramon, you have abdicated your position as one of the Four Great Dragons.” They replied, “You are not welcome in Machine Pit anymore. I believed that to be clear.”

BlackGuilmon breathed in sharply, “The only reason why I abdicated my position was because the Great Dragons wanted me to be something I was not.” An exhale, he needed to calm down, emotions would not sway the leader of the Four Lords, “…But that’s not important. I need to speak to The Prophecy.”

Fanglongmon raised their head slightly, “For what purpose?” they ask, the golden armor glinting in the sunlight, the scales of their long neck standing just a little more straight, just a little more sharp. “I need to know why the Digital World is still like this.” BlackGuilmon continued, “I am not one to question The Prophecy’s decisions—” a deep sigh escaped the black dragon’s mouth, “—but I need to know its reasoning, what stops it from recovering the Digital World, and why.”

Fanglongmon was not usually one to delay an answer, which to BlackGuilmon, meant that they were considering it. Despite their cold and calculating and _unbiased_ demeanor, Fanglongmon always had their own opinions on how to run things.

“Megidramon.” Fanglongmon started, “You were originally freely capable of speaking to The Prophecy when you were one of the Four Great Dragons.” A pause, “And it is true that, even after your abdication, you were allowed to enter undisturbed more than once, to speak with our God.” They continued, “However, that was all before the war with the Human World. Your request is denied.”

BlackGuilmon’s eyes bulged, “Why?!” he shouted back, “Do you think I’m a security risk to The Prophecy or something?!” his anger was so immediate, he had no time to hold himself back.

“Yes.” Fanglongmon’s voice was plain, “But more importantly, our God has requested that none enter or leave Machine Pit. Not even you.”

“But—”

“ ** _Enough!_** ”

Fanglongmon did not shout, they did not need to. Their voice commanded a level of respect and authority that simply speaking with strength denied any objections. BlackGuilmon took a step back, finding himself already dropped to all fours, his body ready to break into a sprint before his mind realized what had happened. “I will not hear an objection to this decision. It is final.” They continued, “The Prophecy has spoken, this is no longer your home, if you wish to speak with it, you will need to go through Machine Pit’s defenses.”

BlackGuilmon looked Fanglongmon in the eyes. Something was wrong. For the first time in his life, he had felt it, not so much in the Sovereign’s demeanor, but in their voice – uncertainty. The façade had broken at that last line, a small crack in their voice. Fanglongmon was not one to lie. They were not one to ignore reason over orders. The Prophecy’s word was absolute, but Fanglongmon was its personal guardian, their judgement was often treated as an extension of The Prophecy’s. The Prophecy never gave an order that Fanglongmon disagreed with. Fanglongmon never went against The Prophecy’s wishes.

What changed?

He raised his head. In his spite and defiance, BlackGuilmon briefly considered digivolving and making a break for the elevator. He knew he wouldn’t make it. Fanglongmon would kill him before he ever got off the ground.

With a deep breath, the black dragon nodded and turned around, going back to the forest. Still walking on all fours, he leapt into the brush and made his way through the trees. He did not hear Fanglongmon’s large footsteps, and had to wonder if it would be wise to try again another day. He had to know why The Prophecy had decided to not revive the Digital World…

His eyes narrowed as he walked, but as he breathed in deeply, the smells of the jungle coming back to him, he started to focus again. He looked left and right, seeing no movement or shadows, he leapt from one bush to the next, he should go back to HQ now, activate the sensor, let Eve and Gatomon know that he was alive. But first – maybe it would be best to go on a hunt. Find one of the berserk, chase it, kill it for sport. A good hunt always made him feel better. It always kept his mind from wandering too far from the present.


	5. War

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we're back to Veemon! This chapter is longer than the others by a fair margin - there was so much that I needed to cover, and nothing here really looked like a good stopping point to break into two chapters, so it ended up being about 8000 words long. You might want to set aside some extra time to read this one.

September 6th, 2025  
5:36PM

“Wait, he did _what?”_ I ask, laughing under my breath, “You can’t be serious.”

“Well, it’s true.” Guilmon answered, lifting himself up past a fallen reddened tree trunk, “Terriermon can get to some weird stuff sometimes.” He continued, laughing.

“You _did_ enable him.” I answer, smirking, and Guilmon laughs in response, “No! I just didn’t stop him.” He smirks back, “Entirely worth it.”

“Man, you’ve certainly been up to a lot in a while.” I chuckle under my breath, turning to him for a moment, “How do you even find time for that?”

“Weeeeeell…” he rolls his eyes sheepishly, “I skip work sometimes.”

I let out a hearty laugh in response and take a deep breath, the smells of the forest hitting my nostrils as I let out a contented sigh, “Man, I needed this kind of talk.” I chuckle, “Feels like it’s been forever since I talked to anyone that wasn’t Davis.”

“How _is_ Davis, anyway?” Guilmon asked, eyebrow slightly raised, “I’ve been doing most of the talking today, so I think it’s about time you spoke up too.” His smile was taunting but joking at the same time.

I smile in response, the rustle of the leaves above filling my momentary silence, it is a comfortable warmth in this late afternoon, especially due to the thick canopy giving us good shade. As I walk, one of the leaves falls in front of me, and I catch it in the air before it hits my face, the faint smell of cinnamon hitting my nostrils, alongside something vaguely sweet mixed in? The leaf is of a weird greenish-yellow coloration, the patterns in it seeming twisted and broken apart, almost as if the leaf itself had been made of parts of other broken leaves.

I let the leaf fall off of my hand behind me, my fingers tracing the thin red trunks of the trees to my left, I remember how they used to look like, the strong brown and earthy colors, how the bark stood strong unless it pulled on it with force – now breaking off at the slightest touch of my claws – and how the top of the trees didn’t look so twisted inwards, forming this thick canopy above. The branches sometimes looked almost thicker than the trunks themselves, giving this forest a weird, distorted look.

“Vee?” Guilmon interrupts, and I turn back to him, “You’re making some weird expressions there.”

“Ah, sorry.” I answer, turning back to the tree directly on my left, still walking forward, “I was just thinking how different this sector looks compared to when we worked here.”

“It does, doesn’t it?” The red dragon at my side asked, turning his gaze upwards, “It looked so plain and normal before, now it’s almost like… like some sort of twisted dream.” He inhaled sharply, before letting out a small cough, “…The air wasn’t quite so dry before, either.”

“Yeah…” It is difficult to think that this was the same place I spent two years working on protecting, this entire forest under my protection, my command, mine and Guilmon’s. Just us, a communication line to HQ, and a bunch of other volunteer Digimon that had been taken to our cause. I remember how annoying and difficult those days seemed at the time and laugh slightly at how simple they seem now. How much less complicated it was to fight a war when you don’t get to see the worst of the casualties.

“Vee.” Guilmon interrupts again, “Now you’re just looking sad.”

I shake my head, “Sorry, sorry, memories and everything.” I smile back to him, and he gives a knowing, if sympathetic nod, “Anyway, you asked about Davis?” he nods again, more enthusiastically this time.

I gaze upwards a bit, although my vision stays unfocused, “Davis…” I start my sentence, but let it trail off – ah, a part of me wishes I could go back home right now, back to hug Davis and kiss him again, I can still feel the warmth of his lips if I focus on it, the small butterflies the thought brings to my stomach. I can still remember the warmth of his body as he caresses me, or the small tickling feeling I get when he plays with my ears.

“And now you just have the goofiest smile.” I turn towards him, and he smiles a bit harder, one eyebrow raised, “Really Vee, you gotta stop getting into your reveries.”

“I know, I know.” I laugh a little loud, “It’s a habit I’ve gotta break.” I sigh afterwards, “Well, things must be really good if you’re smiling like that, right?” he continues.

I wonder if I should tell him. Davis obviously still has his little anxieties and doubts, and I’ll admit that I’m a little anxious too. This is as new to me as it is to him – well, considering how _he_ actually has relationship experience, it’s probably even newer to me – but it also felt like I was calmer about this than he was. Less embarrassed. Maybe he just needs some time to get used to the idea, maybe everything will be a bit better in a week or two.

“Well…” I start, I probably shouldn’t say anything, not so soon, but turning towards Guilmon I remember the silly secrets I had already told him, about myself and about Davis, and the silly things he told me about himself and Takato. I wonder if they’re still in a relationship? It’d be awkward to ask if they’re not, I suppose, but they always went so well together, I don’t think they’d break up. He did ask me to keep that a secret in general for a while. He’d keep it under wraps too if I told him.

“…I do have something to tell you.” I start, and his two little jagged ears perk up in curiosity, I scratch my chin, “You uh… promise to keep it a secret?” I ask, and Guilmon gives a bit of a knowing look, he probably already figured it out. I remember he was acting just like this when he told me, I guess I can finally understand why. “Yeah, lips are sealed.”

“Well, this is still very new – like, less than twenty-four hours new.” I chuckle a bit, “…But Davis and I are boyfriends now.” I smile to him, and he gives me a small shoulder check, “Congrats.”

I rub my arm, mostly out of reflex, “Thanks.” I answer, giving him a friendly punch on his shoulder, and he chuckles in response, “This is all very new to me though, I don’t really know what I’m doing.” I turn back forward, both arms held behind my back, “And I think Davis is a little confused too, like, he asked me if we should be doing couple things like—how did he put it?” I snap my fingers twice, “…Something about wearing clothes and watching movies or something?”

Guilmon raises both eyebrows in response, “Oh, right, watching movies and clothes, right.” He chuckles, “And you bought that?” I raise an eyebrow in response, and Guilmon shakes his head, “Man, and I thought I was supposed to be the clueless one here.”

I raise both eyebrows, “What, you think he was already thinking about sex?” I ask, and Guilmon laughs a bit harder, “Oh so you’re not _completely_ clueless.” Guilmon’s laughter continues, and I pout a bit, mostly out of annoyance. I _had_ figured that’s what he actually meant, but I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt.

Guilmon sighs, still laughing under his breath, “Does the idea bother you?” he asks, and as I look forward again, I let out a breath, “…Not really.” I answer, “I just wasn’t particularly thinking about it.” I turn to him again, mostly looking over my shoulder, “Should I be?”

“Up to you, really.” Guilmon shrugs, “Take it as quickly or as slowly as you and Davis feel you’re comfortable with.” He continues, “It’s just… the two of you have been partners for what, twenty years now?” I nod, “There’s already intimacy and trust between the two of you, so now that you’re boyfriends it is kind of a next step you have to consider.”

“Still…” Guilmon continues, “Don’t let it get to your head, Takato started thinking about this early on too and…” he shrugs again, “…Well, nothing really came of it until much later. Just because you two should be considering the possibility doesn’t mean you should rush into it. Take your time.” He smiles, “Probably better to try and see how things change first.”

“Should they change?” I raise both eyebrows, and then purse my lips slightly, “I’m not sure I want them to.” Mostly in the sense that… as much as the idea of snuggling up to Davis trading caresses and kisses appeals to me, I don’t want to give up the silly stuff. I don’t want to give up the tickle fights and the video games and the roughhousing. Hell, I don’t even want our occasional bickering to stop. I like making him angry sometimes, he’s funny when he gets flustered like that.

“Veemon, you gotta understand that just because I’ve been in a relationship for years, not all of my experience will map onto yours.” He smiles, “Davis and Takato – and you and I for that matter – are different people. Our relationships will be different.” He sighs, “Things did change between Takato and I when we started, some of the old things that annoyed me became more hurtful than before, and I had to try to be more considerate of Takato as well.” He scratches the back of his head, “It… was around that time I tried to stop with my innocent act, Takato didn’t like it nearly as much afterwards.”

Then he turns to be again, “But that doesn’t mean things _have_ to change between you two, or even that they _will_.” He smiles, “Just… it’s something the two of you will have to feel out, over the course of a few months, or heck, even years.”

I smile to him, “Guil, you’re younger than me.” I start, “How the hell do you act so _wise_?” his response is to shrug and smile a little harder, “The trick, Veemon, is observing others, and listening. You’d be surprised at how much you can learn from people just by really looking and listening to them…” And his smile turns into a grin, “…especially when they think you’re too stupid to notice.”

I grin back, “Okay then Mr. Wise.” I answer, and then immediately jump on him, wrapping my right arm around his neck and pulling him down as he lets out a surprised yelp, before I start grinding my fist on top of his head, “Did you see _this_ coming?”

“Stoooop!” he lets out, laughing, his arms flailing weakly at his side, trying to push me to stop, I take a step backwards, putting myself at his side and forcing him downwards a little more, his arms were never very flexible, so from this position, there’s nothing he can do to stop me. “Stoooooooop!” he lets out again, a little louder this time.

As I laugh and grind my fist into his head with a little more force, Guilmon starts to try and get away from me by kicking me, keeping his balance with his arm to the ground. I have to reposition my right leg a little more backwards so he doesn’t hit me with his kicks, and afterwards I keep bullying him into submission, “Nuh-uh. Gotta teach you to not sound so _cocky_ around me.”

He laughs and does his best to pull his head away from me, this position is awkward as I have to lean forward a lot to really be able to grind my fist in, his body is taller and he’s technically also a quadruped so it gets difficult for me to really get in there. I shift my body weight mo—

My world turns upside down for a moment, I feel my back hit the ground below me followed shortly by my legs. I push myself up by my elbows, shaking my head to get the leaves off of it and my back. I look backwards, towards Guilmon, who’s also lying on his back, trying to get up.

Oh, so he’s rolling to get me off of him now? We’ll see about _that._

I scramble to my feet and jump to his side again, he falls back down to the ground, “Oh no you don’t.” I exclaim before my fingers immediately start digging into his belly, “ _I’m not done with you yet._ ” Huh, his belly is a bit harder than I remember.

He laughs a bit harder, “N-Nooo!” he cries out, he’s always had a _very_ ticklish belly, and I keep digging into it harder as he tries to push me away, weakly, “Stoooop!” he lets out again, and I laugh alongside him, seeing his smile as he continues to try to squirm his way away from me, and I chase him with my fingers that did harder and faster into his skin, “Pleeease!”

After a bit longer though, I stop bullying him, he’s had enough, I think, and as he covers his belly with his two big arms, I sit down, smile plastered on my face, waiting for him to recover from his laughter. He seems to take his time, his laughter slowly fading as time goes on. When he finally finishes laughing, he lets out a satisfied sigh. “Man… it’s been a while.” He says.

I crawl to his side, laying down next to him, “Since you and I goofed off like this?” I ask, and Guilmon shakes his head, “Since I’ve goofed off like this _period_.” He continues, “Takato and I don’t spend nearly as much time as I’d like nowadays with…” he raises his hand, pointing his claw vaguely upwards, twirling it in the air a bit, “…well, everything going on.”

I smile, “What about Terriermon and Renamon?”

“Pffft, are you kidding me? Renamon?” He laughs in response, “She’s not exactly one for goofing off.” He sighs, “And Terriermon is… Well, I haven’t met him in months, really.” He gives a slightly wistful sigh, “Not since his last prank.”

“Okay, hit me if this sounds stupid but…” I pause for a second, “…Impmon?”

He looks at me for a second, smiling incredulously, “Impmon is…” he pauses, “…well, I shouldn’t say much, frankly I haven’t seen him in so long.” He turns his gaze upwards, more curious and thoughtful than happy now, “…I wonder how he’s doing. I don’t think I’ve met him since before the war even started.”

“Really?” I pull myself up a bit, “I… thought I saw him during the last push.” I _think_ I did at any rate. It was so chaotic, and most of my time during the last push was spent as Imperialdramon. I didn’t exactly have much time to look around past the bare minimum… Man, that reminds me, I should try to go find Wormmon and talk to him at some point.

Guilmon shakes his head, “If he was at the last push, I didn’t see him.” He started, “Although, that’s not surprising, he tends to stick as far away from our group as possible.” He laughs a bit, “Guess he’ll always be a bit of a loner.”

I start chuckling under my breath, but my ear twitches again, I turn around – was that movement in the trees? In the bushes?

“Guil?” I ask, getting up and reaching for my holster, “Yeah. I heard it.” He says from behind me, I can hear the leaves rustling as he gets up from his position. I reach for the gun on my holster, the safety’s off, the little pale blue dial is set to “low” – going to bump that up to medium, just in case.

“Cover me.” I whisper, detaching the magazine, two shots left. He presses his back against mine, my eyes dart upwards to check the trees, but the sunlight is barely hitting the section beyond the trees. I can see movement among the bushes, but it’s hard to tell if it’s from something moving or just the wind.

I open up the pouch with the sandwich I ate earlier and stuff the near-empty clip there along with the other one, before closing it and opening one of the magazine pouches. I grab the first one my fingers reach for, and immediately place it back on my gun. “Got it.” I whisper, closing the pouch, “Got anything?” I ask.

“Doesn’t sound very heavy.” He starts, his hearing was always better than mine, “About our size, maybe a bit larger.” A pause, “Rookie or champion, probably.”

Good, this shouldn’t be too difficult then.

Gun in hand, I push my back against Guilmon a bit harder, and we start rotating on our own axis, slowly moving to our respective lefts, I look down the path we were travelling, but it looks to keep going without much issue. I look towards the opposite side from when I first heard the noise, the bushes there silent until the exact moment the wind starts to pick up, howling softly and sending the entire forest into a frenzy of motion and noise.

I close my left eye, the wind catching me a little by surprise, befo— “Ultimate!” Guilmon cries out, and I can feel him moving to his right, and I respond by throwing myself to my left, going in the same direction he is.

I hear the crash behind us before I even hit the floor, rolling forward and turning around as I catch my balance— “PYRO SPHERE!” the heat is the first thing I feel, before the noise comes from it being launched in the direction of where we were, I cover my face instinctually as the noise and the explosion come. I can feel the heat of the burning leaves as they hit my body and are quickly disintegrated, that cinnamon-sweet smell becoming something much more acrid and sickly to my nostrils.

As I open my eyes, I can see the creature as it reaches the ground, a few meters away from us, the black armor that covers most of the outer part of its body, the long, black, segmented tail moves slowly behind it, the long snout with the big rows of teeth, the two head-like things on each of its two shoulders, the three large blade-like things that protrude out of each of its four legs, above the actual claws. Cerberumon.

I lift my gun towards it and fire in its direction twice, it jumps to the left, although I hear the loud “clang!” of one of the bullets finding their mark, when he lends, I can see the reddened spot against its leg armor, but no actual damage is dealt. Fuck.

It growls lowly, before moving forward and leaping in our direction, Guilmon runs in its direction from the side as I jump to my right – Guilmon’s direction – and avoid its piercing claws. Guilmon tackles it with strength towards a nearby tree, and as the impact sound reverberates through the forest, I can see the white-pinkish flesh of its underside, I aim for it, and fire another bullet.

But I have no time to see whether it hit or not, the tree it just impacted starts falling in our direction immediately. I take a few steps backwards, as Guilmon rolls out of the way, and I do my best to protect my face as the tree impacts, about a meter between the two of us.

I look directly where the trunk was, but the Digimon isn’t there anymore. The leaves haven’t settled yet, and I look towards Guilmon, he’s looking around just as I am, he’s lost sight of the ugly thing too.

I turn to my left, seeing nothing but the darkness of the forest beyond, the bushes still rattling from the wind and the impact. Damn it, it’s being _smart_.

I raise my gun again, turning to the pale blue dial and turning it to maximum – I’m probably going to hate myself for this in just a bit, especially against such a fast thing, but it’s the best option I have against such thick armor.

“Vee!”

My body moves before I even have the time to process anything, I’ve learned to trust that yell. I feel myself rolling against the ground, once again hearing the crash that comes afterwards, that weird scratching sound as the blades dig through the floor, I turn around before my momentum really ends, digging my claws into the ground as I point the gun forward again, I fire another shot, but it goes wide.

The Cerberumon leaps back into the darkness of the trees, its long tail the last thing I see before I lose sight of him. I take my claws out of the ground and get up properly, “Damn it.” I curse, “We’re never going to catch him like this.”

I turn towards Guilmon, “Call for backup!” I yell out, and in the corner of my eye, I can see the reflective glint of the light. I turn towards it and fire, and immediately feel gravity take over my body.

As my back hits the ground, the wind is knocked out of my lungs, but before I even open my eyes, I can hear its growling and I can definitely feel that _disgusting breath_ coming into my nostrils. I can feel the pressure in my right arm, I flex my fingers instinctually – the impact knocked the gun out of my hand, great.

As I open my eyes, I can see the yellow eyes and these big teeth right in front of me. A drop of its slobber falls on my face, and as it rears back for a bite, I lift my left arm and swing with as much strength as I can!

His head comes down, but it hits the ground right next to mine. He whines slightly, and that punch definitely didn’t hurt back nearly as much as I thought it did – did I hit soft tissue or something? – I do my best to knee its underbelly, and it whines again once, before growling and turning towards me again—

“ROCK CRUSHER!” I hear the cry, and I can see its eyes bulge out in surprise at the exact same moment. It leaps backwards, and I roll to my left as soon as my right arm is freed – I cover my head and I can feel the dirt and the rock shrapnel hitting my back, my ears instinctually lowering to hug my head as the loud CRASH noise comes.

But after just a moment of letting the dust settle, before even Guilmon has recovered of his own attack, I push myself up again, scrambling as I do. I run past Guilmon as he pulls his arm out of the crater he just created, I look around and—there!

I keep running and lower my body as I reach out to my gun on the ground, I turn around, seeing Guilmon’s glowing arm again swinging into an incoming Cerberumon midleap, but the red dragon is too slow. He falls to the ground, his attack failing as the Cerberumon pins him down, but before he can do anything more to Guilmon, I fire another two shots, and I can feel my hand getting hot.

I wince, closing one of my eyes, I can’t see whether the shots hit, but I do hear the large whine, and the Ultimate Digimon jumps out of Guilmon instantly, vanishing back into the forest.

“You okay?” I ask, and Guilmon replies simply by getting up as quickly as possible, but before he’s even halfway up, he seems to notice something to his side and ducks back down. Immediately afterwards, a giant stream of glowing flame passes directly above him, hitting the trees on the opposite side of where the Digimon leapt to.

Immediately afterwards, the stream of flames comes directly in my direction. I jump towards the ground, the heat passing by above me, but I already know what’s happening, I can feel the fire burning, the crackling of the flames that starts even as the stream of flames continues to move.

It’s going to burn down the whole damn forest.

I pull myself up as best as I can, but the scenery has already completely changed around me. What, mere seconds ago, was a distorted, dry but otherwise pretty forest of reds and greens and yellows, now turned into a blaze of red and orange flames, visible only for a few seconds before the black smoke – that sickly, acrid smell coming into my nostrils and burning them from the inside.

I look towards where I last saw Guilmon, but the flames already block my vision, the fire spreading quickly. I can feel the heat coming not just from the trees around me, or the air above me, but also from the dry leaves that cover the ground. Damn it— “Guilmon!” I yell, finding myself coughing against the hot air, the smell churning my stomach and making it protest in revulsion.

I look around, but all around me are just flames, flames on the trees, on the ground, crackling in the air, and the smoke makes it impossible to see more than a couple of feet. Damn it, which way were we going? I lost all sense of direction in the middle of the fight. “Guilmon!” I shout again. I get no response, not in the middle of these roaring flames.

I raise my hand to my face, covering my mouth and nose as best I can. I look towards the path that has less the least fire, and I run towards it, doing my best to keep my head down of the crackling fire and the smoke. I hear a crash somewhere in the distance, a tree falling, damn it, this is _really_ bad.

I raise my left hand to my earpiece, and my right to my mouth, doing the best I can to keep it covered despite the gun still in my grip. “Veemon—” I cough again as more hot air enters my lungs, the nausea starting to creep up my throat, “—to HQ! Forest blaze! Need backup!”

The exact moment I finish that sentence is when I see it, it’s almost like it happens in slow motion, the tiny yellow eyes that appear over the fire, the heat of the flames dissipating only slightly from that direction, the black armor that glints slightly in the light shed by fire, the six large blades pointing directly towards my body as it comes quickly through the air. My body reacts as quickly as possible, pointing my gun towards it, but it’s too late, too late—!

I hear the bullet be fired, but with the incoming creature, I close my eyes. I don’t know if I hit it, a part of me expects to be dead, but the heat around me, the crackling of the flames proves that I am not. I open my eyes to hear the growling and thrashing, and as I turn towards it, I see the two big arms, each with three long, white claws holding down the Cerberumon, the elongated lizard-like body with the big snout and the two powerful legs, two claws forward, one back, a body made to move both as a biped and as a quadruped, the long tail that stood surprisingly still as the monster below them thrashed about.

It was Guilmon.

But it wasn’t Guilmon.

“Rookie!” the new creature shouted, “Finish it off!”

Immediately in response I opened fire again, this time, aiming squarely for its exposed head. The bullet fires, and despite the smoke, I can see the red oozing blood coming from inside of the black armor immediately afterwards. The thrashing stops immediately, the tongue lolls out of its mouth, the eyes lose focus, the pupils dilating, the data particles start to appear shortly afterwards, and the new, black creature that was pinning it down takes a step to the side, leaving it as it breaks into data.

What kind of life did you live? What kind of thoughts and emotions did you have before you became one of the Berserk? Did you have friends? A family of sorts? How old were you – did you digivolve before this madness started? Were you a hound of hell, protecting the Dark Area, like other Cerberumon? Were you something different, living a different life altogether?

_What kind of life did I just end?_

“Veemon!” I hear coming from the side, as I turn towards it, I can see Guilmon moving past the flames and approaching, “Are you okay?!” he shouts despite being close, the roaring of the fires making it impossible to speak normally. He coughs, twice, but the new creature turns towards us, “We need to move, now!”

It drops to all fours, “Come on!” it continues, Guilmon seems startled at first, but also drops to all fours, “Up on my back, stay low.” He tells me, and I nod, holstering back my gun and climbing on top of him, laying low and holding his neck for support.

They both break into a sprint immediately, jumping through the burning grass and in between the flames, leaping past fallen tree trunks and moving as quickly as their bodies would allow. I cough, having to push my nose and mouth against Guilmon’s back to try and block the smoke. I can hear him coughing too, his body struggling to breathe even through his sprint. The smoke is so thick, I can barely see the black creature through it, only the red rings around its body, particularly its tail, making it visible.

I turn my head backwards, seeing the fire spreading and coming after us, another tree falling on the ground, shooting cinders and burning leaves up in the air. The fire climbs the trunks of the small and the massive trees, going all the way up to the high canopy, the blackened smoke blocking the light of the setting sun. That sickly acrid smell hits my nostrils again, through the cinders and the ashes, and I feel the nausea hit the back of my mouth. My stomach churns, and I am forced to gulp down the bile that climbs into my throat, desperately trying to escape. I succeed the first time; I don’t succeed the second.

What kind of hell do we live in?

September 6th, 2025  
8:49PM

I wince again as her finger gently presses the ointment into my right hand, her tiny patting giving my burns as much relief as the pressure gives it pain. “How are you doing?” Eve asks, looking at me, and I shake my head, “Mostly tired at this point.” I answer.

Eve doesn’t reply, spreading the ointment throughout my entire right hand, “Normally I’d chastise you for leaving the Data Break Protocol at maximum.” She starts, “But given the circumstances, I think I can cut you some slack.”

“Gee, thanks.” My voice probably sounds more bitter than I really wanted it to, I scratch my face with the other hand, and Eve sighs slightly as she finishes spreading the ointment – “Lift your tail, please.” She instructs, and I do as she says as she goes behind the bed to do the same to my tail. My body is already covered in small bandages, and most of my burns are already covered with the ointment she’s been giving me.

I look towards the other two beds, the first one having left the cylindrical glass of the pod open just like mine, is Guilmon, his right shoulder covered in bandages that the creepy maid-woman with the yellow eyes and the white dress finishes doing. Some of his scales are covered with the same ointment that Eve is giving me, although I can see the blackened skin beneath them, fragile and crackly. Guilmon sits still as the maid – Ophelia, Eve called her – continues to administer treatment to the red dragon. He winces in pain once, but as Ophelia turns to him quizzically, he shakes his head, “I’m good.” He says, in a small tone. He also has the occasional bruise and cut in his body, but the cuts on his shoulder from when the three blades dug into him are definitely the worst part.

On the bed to his immediate left, however, is the other dragon, with the same elongated snout, the same body made to be both bipedal and quadrupedal, the same long tail. BlackGuilmon raises his head a little, sighing in frustration. Unlike both of us, his pod had been opened only minutes prior, and as he notices I’m staring, he cocks an eyebrow.

“Sorry for shooting a hole in your tail.” I say, and BlackGuilmon simply shakes his head, using his claws in a dismissive motion, “You’re fine.” He says.

Really, looking at both of them like this, it is incredibly disconcerting how similar and yet different they look. Like looking at a mirror that somehow changes your colors.

“Eve.” BlackGuilmon turns to the woman as she presses a little harder into my tail, me letting out a small yelp in pain. Eve lets go for a second, before pressing the ointment back with more care. “What is it, BG?” she asks.

“Why are you not putting them both into the pods?” he asks, “I took the least damage out of the three of us, why am I the only one that goes into these things?” he continues, and Eve sighs loudly, not stopping her work, even as BlackGuilmon taps his tail on the bed, whether in frustration or just to make sure it’s still working, I can’t tell.

“I can dress burns and cuts without needing to use the pods, BG.” She starts, “But I can’t plug a hole in your tail without them.” She continues, starting to move to my lower tail. “I would put them into the pods ordinarily, especially because of the issues with the smoke and all…” my throat burns slightly as she mentions that, I have that reflex of trying to inhale sharply, but I do my best to fight it off – I broke into a coughing fit the last time I did that. “…but this time, I’m doing it all manually.”

“Why?” BlackGuilmon asks what we’re all thinking, “I thought the point of the pods was that you’d be able to handle all injuries without having to stop your work. Don’t you still have to find the cure?” I think he intended his tone to be more inquisitive than accusatory, but his annoyance at being asked to stay was still palpable in his voice.

“Because Gatomon asked me to get you three on your feet as quickly as possible.” Eve answers, “She wants to get a verbal report from you three.”

“Oh great.” Guilmon starts, sighing, “That’s _just_ what we needed.” Ophelia seems to start dressing the back part of his right leg. “You can say that again.” BlackGuilmon continued, “What the hell would she want a report from us for? Shouldn’t she be coordinating efforts to get that blaze under control?”

“She is.” Eve answers, “She’s already sent some Omega operatives to the field, they’ll do everything possible to contain the blaze.” She says matter-of-factly, “Of course, by the time they’re done, I imagine a good bit of the forest will be unsalvageable.” A lump comes into my throat.

“That should have been hours ago, when Veemon called in.” BlackGuilmon continues, and Eve nods, “And it was.” She says, matter-of-factly. Guilmon takes in a deep breath, neither of them seem to be having as many issues with the smoke as I am, “…Then she wants to chastise us.” He narrows his eyes, “ _Fantastic._ ”

“Don’t shoot the messenger.” Eve responds, as she takes something behind me and seems to start dressing up the wounds on my tail, “I’m just here to do my job as quickly as I can and then get back to work.” She continues.

The silence is strong afterwards, Ophelia and Eve keep working together to finish dressing our wounds, and they do so swiftly. It is weird to see Eve doing this kind of stuff manually, I’ve only ever seen her as the woman who insisted on dressing like royalty as she sat on the throne room and coordinated all efforts during the war. I still remember the impractically long, pinkish white dress with the big blue gem encrusted on her chest, the golden bracelets and the golden clasps that tied her dress to the billowing, massively oversized coat, and the comparatively tiny silver tiara she wore atop her hair. Now, I saw her wearing nothing more complex than a plain white shirt and shorts, with the most decorated part of her being her long boots and the white shoulder-length hair that she apparently insists on keeping immaculately groomed.

But after a few more minutes of this, “Alright, you should be fine enough to go now.” She says, “Take a few steps, see how you feel.” She continues. Ophelia pulls away from Guilmon, and then moves to the edge of the room, sitting still until she is needed again.

I get off the bed, feeling the pressure against my feet again, but despite bracing for it, they don’t hurt at all. I take a few steps, and my walking seems to be normal, although I do have a small burning sensation in my tail, and there is a dull pain still in my belly – that weird, dull pain you get when you know you’ve exerted yourself too much. It seems like I’m not rested enough.

Guilmon gets up as well, and starts taking his few steps, he seems to be doing better than I am at first, but I see him wince in pain whenever the tip of his tail touches the ground, he points it upwards, and sighs. Then, he looks at me and nods, “I’m good.” He doesn’t sound happy as he says it.

BlackGuilmon gets off his bed last, walking up towards both of us. His expression is more annoyed than anything, and as he gets between the two of us and looks at both of us in turn, he nods – “Let’s get this over with.” His deep voice always catches me a little off guard, I keep expecting his voice to be somewhat like Guilmon’s slightly high-pitched voice, but it really, really isn’t.

The three of us walk side-by-side as we leave the infirmary and walk back towards the entrance, our steps being the only sound filling the metallic halls of HQ. None of us talks, and as I look towards both of them, I can see that Guilmon’s expression looks more defeated than anything, whereas BlackGuilmon looks annoyed and even a bit angry.

I push open the door that leads into the entrance, and BlackGuilmon, impatiently, pushes open the door that leads to the throne room. The three of us step inside, not bothering to close the door behind us as we see Gatomon, like always, sitting on the throne that used to be occupied by Eve – she raises her head slightly, and then pushes the transparent console aside, it disappearing as she does.

She jumps out of the throne, descending the small steps in front of it, paws behind her back as she approaches us, “What happened?” is the first thing that comes out of her mouth, her blue eyes unwavering, he expression absolutely neutral, his stance as straight and her tail as still as it ever was, the ring on it glinting slightly under the light of the throne room.

Just like every other time I’ve seen her in these past two years.

“They were—” BlackGuilmon starts, but Gatomon raises her paw, “No, I want to hear it from them.” She continues, “I sent you both to patrol different areas, yet you two were found on the _same_ area, together.” She finally crosses her arms, “ _What happened?_ ”

“We… decided to patrol together.” Guilmon starts, “We thought it would be a good change of pace, so it wouldn’t be so monotonous, we intended to do both halves.” He continues, and then he makes a small pause, “…A Digimon attacked us, a Cerberumon, we fought back, but before we could kill it, it set the forest ablaze.”

“You already know the rest.” BlackGuilmon continues, and Gatomon’s ear twitches in his direction, her tail moving slightly in response, “They called for backup, and you sent me their location, I went to help, and then I helped them escape the forest fire.”

“So, let me see if I understood this correctly.” Gatomon starts, and I start wincing in response, “You two disobeyed my orders—” I fists clench slightly, the pain in my right hand shooting up “—decided to team up together so you could focus less on your work—” I close my eyes, breathing in sharply, my longs protesting loudly as I do so, “—most likely played around _during_ work, alerting this Digimon—” I cringe again, turning my head to the side, “—and ultimately failing to prevent it from turning a quarter of an entire sector into smoldering ashes.” She gives a small pause, “Do I have that correctly?”

“It was my idea.” I answer, opening my eyes back up again, I can feel the tears coming in the back of my eyes, but I breath in again, “All of this was my idea. I started roughhousing with Guilmon, and I convinced him to come with me.” Guilmon turns to me, concern and surprise in his eyes, “Veemon, no.” he says.

“It doesn’t matter if it was your idea – Guilmon went along.” Gatomon continues, and my eyes snap back to her, “In fact, your failure was so great that we had to pull an Omega operative,” her eyes shift towards BlackGuilmon “to aid you, when they could be doing much more important work.”

What the hell.

“There’s no amount of excuses that you can make to explain this _monumental_ failure, and this complete lack of disrespect for me and my orders.”

_What the hell._

“Go back to the infirmary, you two. Get into the pods, get healed, and I’ll see you two back here tomorrow morning at five sharp.” She turns around walking back to her throne, “You will have many tasks to complete to make up for this. Dismissed.”

“ ** _GATOMON WHAT THE FUCK?_** _”_

My scream pierces the hall, my throat hurts in response, but my stare is defiant, as Gatomon turns back to me, eyes narrowed.

“ _What the fuck is **wrong** with you?!”_ I say, again, “We almost died out there! An entire forest burned down and we were at the very center of it!” I hate it. “Do you understand that? _We almost died!_ ” I hate it so much. “Do you not care about us? Do you not give a single thought as to how we felt when we were in the middle of that fire?” I hate getting like this. “All we wanted – all we wanted was a small rest from all of this!” I hate getting like this at a friend.

But this has to stop.

My arms spread out, pointing towards the entire room, the digital world, this situation, the war, _everything_. “I’ve only gotten back home in time for actually doing _anything_ besides sleep twice in the last three months!” My breathing is sharp, my lungs hurt, my throat hurts, “And yesterday it was because _I almost died!_ ” I exhale strongly, “Do you not know what that means?! Do you not know what _death_ means anymore?!” I grit my teeth, “ ** _Have you spent so long sitting in your stupid chair that you forgot what we have to go through every day!?”_**

I said it.

I actually said it.

It’s something that’s been on my throat, deep in my chest, for so _goddamn long_.

My eyes are starting to fill with tears, but my stance is still defiant, I feel no relief in saying this. I can’t feel relief when yelling at a friend. I can’t feel _good_ at being angry at a friend. But this has to stop. This is too much.

The silence hangs in the air for only one more second, before I feel it. I’m not even surprised when I do, I feel the pain in my throat and the small wind going around in my body. I feel my back hit the floor, I can feel the bandages that were there getting unmade and the searing pain coming back to me as my body skids on the red carpet. I cry out, but as I open my eyes again, my vision focusing, I can see that same scenario I saw a year and a half ago.

Gatomon holding pinning her down with her left paw around my throat, right paw raised, claws pointed firmly in my direction, “You’re a liability.” She says, eyes narrowing again.

“You wouldn’t do it.” I reply, gritting my teeth against the pain on my back, “Not to me. Not to a friend.”

_“This is not the Gatomon I know.”_

It’s subtle at first. Almost imperceptible, almost like I imagined it. Her stance doesn’t shift. Not even a tiny bit. For a moment, I feel like she might be actually considering it.

But then, I can feel the grip around my neck slacken, I can see her eyes grow softer, I can see her tail moving again, I can see her right paw shaking slightly. She can’t do it. A moment ago, she could. But she can’t.

I see the red blur coming only shortly before it hits her. Guilmon tackles her with full force, throwing her away from my body and sending her flying against the door. I can hear the impact that knocks the wind out of her, and I can see the grimace of pain coming from Guilmon as he gives me his paw to help me get up.

As I get up and look back towards her, I can see Gatomon picking herself up, but stopping midway when the growling starts. BlackGuilmon placed himself between her and us, already on all fours. The growling is deep and guttural, his eyes are not unlike those of the Berserk as he looks at her with what could only be described as _hate_.

But he doesn’t make a move. He stands there, stance lowered, ready to pounce at a moment’s notice, but just as ready to back off.

As Gatomon shifts her gaze from him to me, as I properly get up with Guilmon’s help – as Guilmon starts sucking in air through his teeth from the pain in his injured shoulder – I look her in the eye. For the first time in too long, I see her scared, terrified, uncertain, like a cornered cat.

I walk a few steps towards BlackGuilmon, I touch his back, and his gaze immediately shifts towards me with a speed that definitely makes him too close to the Berserk for my liking. But I keep looking at Gatomon, exhaling, “…You’re not the only one that had to live through this war, Gatomon.” I say, “We all did.”

“I know you want to fix the Digital World.” I look back towards Guilmon, “We… we all do.” I gulp, feeling the pain in my throat again, “…But this… this isn’t you. This is not the Gatomon I know. This is not the Gatomon I’ve come to call a friend.”

She did not speak, her tail touching the floor in utter defeat. She looked downwards, towards the ground, her paws still trembled. She exhaled sharply, shaking her head. She pulled herself up, walking back towards the throne, giving us a wide berth, her shoulders slack, dropped. She did not look at us, not even when she reached the throne, not even when she spoke – “You two don’t need to come to work tomorrow. Take the pods and…” she stops, as if a lump caught in her throat, “…and go be with your loved ones.”

I look towards her again; her expression is sad and contemplative. She doesn’t start working again, not immediately, with both paws resting on her legs as her head hangs low, ears pointed downwards.

“Come on.” BlackGuilmon says, “Let’s get you two to the infirmary again, actually get those wounds taken care of.” I didn’t even notice him getting back up, and his expression has slackened significantly. He ushers me to the exit, pushing me to come with him, “Come on.” He insists.

I look towards Gatomon one more time, still in the same position, before walking away. Guilmon comes close to me as we walk towards the door, “Thanks for… for what you tried to do.”

I smile back to him, “Thanks for standing up for me.” I reply, although I’m sure that my smile is strained right now.

As we widen the small opening in the massive doors that we left, I see him. The long ears that resemble bat wings, the blue eyes filled with life, the tiny mouse, the lack of nose, the orange top of his body, the cream underbelly, the small, tiny little toes on all four of his limbs, his tiny stature as he stood there, behind the door that we had left open, both arms next to his chest, his head hanging low.

He doesn’t look towards us as we walk by, but I can hear Patamon say one thing – “I’m sorry.”

Yeah. So am I.


	6. Relief

“I need a favor from you.”

“A favor? Not an order?”

“…No. Not an order.”

“I see. What do you need?”

September 6th, 2025  
10:13PM

I shake my head as I feel the air pressure change around me. “Vee?” I hear the voice come from my front, and opening my eyes, I can see Davis covered in the blankets. I smile towards him, placing my smartphone on the table next to his laptop. “Hey.” I continue, moving towards the bed.

“I was just going to sleep.” Davis starts, as I climb onto the bed with him, “Good thing you came back before I did though.” He chuckles a bit, and I lay down next to him. “How were things today?” he asks.

I let out a sigh, “Not… great.” I answer, shaking my head. Davis’s gaze slackens a bit, a look of concern over his face, “…Hey, how sleepy are you right now?”

“I’m fine.” He answers, too quickly for me to fully believe it, “What’s up?” he asks, propping himself up slightly on his elbows. I look away slightly, is this really the best time to ask him something like this?

I turn to the open window, the sound of a car passing by echoing lowly from it. The wind isn’t as strong tonight, and the lights of the city still gazed upon us even through all of this. I used to love looking out at the streetlights, gazing upon the marvel creations of humanity.

I get up from the bed, going to the window and closing it, only so that the wind doesn’t come through. As the lights of civilization hit me again, I’m suddenly reminded of how much the city changed. You wouldn’t know it if you didn’t know how it used to look like. But it’s obvious if you know where to look – that little district in the back, where no lights can be seen, the gap in illumination rather jarring compared to the brightness of the rest of the city. The construction project, a new skyscraper being built, to replace the old one that had been destroyed. A project delayed by almost two years because – a lump catches in my throat – because they kept finding corpses in the old debris. The large, blackened husk of the burned-down factory, only a few blocks away can still be seen, with no one having ever bothered to try and reclaim the space.

I used to like looking out at the streetlights. But now it just reminds me of how much everything’s changed.

“Vee?” Davis asks from behind me, as I turn around, I see that he’s sat down on the bed, looking at me. He’s still concerned, and I can’t help but smile weakly as I see the tiny pats that he makes on the spot next to him, inviting me to sit down.

I turn back around, climbing back onto the bed with him, but instead of sitting down on the spot he indicated, I sit on his lap sideways, leaning my head against his chest, and closing my eyes, letting both of my arms rest on my own lap. I think he’s a bit surprised at first, but I can hear the small “heh” he lets out, his breathing as soothing as I remember it, and his arms wrap themselves around me. The comfortable warmth comes back to me, and I rub my face slightly against his chest as he tightens his hug just a bit.

We stay like that for a bit, just me, feeling his chest go up and down as he breathes in quietly. He doesn’t really play with my body, not this time, instead just hugging me tightly with both of his arms. He doesn’t speak, and he doesn’t ask me what I need. Sometimes, he lowers his head to place mine on his neck, gently rubbing his chin comfortably against the top of my head. My whole body feels relaxed, the tension I had been holding gone from every single one of my muscles. If I feel asleep like this, I wouldn’t have reason to complain.

The sheer contrast of my relaxed body over the tension I was holding what feels like mere moments before is astounding. My guard isn’t up anymore. I don’t need to think or to look around. I don’t need to let my emotions run rampant, or have my hand ready to go for my holster. I don’t need to constantly remember all of my training, all of my experience. When I’m like this, when I’m with Davis, I can just… be. I can just… feel. I can let my head be empty.

…And that’s exactly why I need to ask him this. He takes good care of me, so I need to do the same for him.

“Davis?” I ask, opening my eyes and turning my head upwards, and Davis looks down towards me with a small “hm?”. He smiles, waiting for me to speak, “…Are you okay?”

I can almost feel the reply coming, his mouth opens up to speak it, that dismissive “Yeah, of course I’m okay.” That he always gave me the few times I inquired about it. But it never comes.

I look him in the eyes, and his expression, that prepared smile and the cheery tone fading as quickly as they came. His eyelids close slightly, he looks to the side, he seems uncertain now. He closes his eyes and exhales a little strongly from his nose, before turning back to me, again, his eyes looking directly to mine. He knows what I mean. He can tell.

He licks his lips slightly, taking in a deeper breath. When was the last time I asked him that? I don’t even remember. Had I become so absorbed in my misery that I forgot completely about his feelings? Even as I told myself that was looking out for him?

All the more reason, then, to do this now.

He places a kiss on top of my head, “…Not great.” He answers, “Having you… it helps.” He smiles a bit weakly, “It really does. These moments have been… they have been very happy for me.” He gives a throaty chuckle, “Frankly, I might be getting addicted to you.” I smile back unconsciously, his hand gently caressing my back. “It’s just… thinking about you just…”

He leans in closer, and places his lips upon mine. I push mine against him just a little, and I can feel the tiny smile that comes across his face, his hot breathing hitting my face and I feel the warmth of his lips again – was he eating something sweet not too long ago? I can still taste it. I smile a little in response, but after a moment, he pulls back, still smiling. “It makes me want to do that.”

I smile, and even as our lips part, I can still feel his warmth across them, mixed in with whatever this sweet taste that was still in his mouth is. It makes me want more, “…Yeah, I get that.” I smile a little wider, “I might be getting addicted to you too.”

His smile grows wider for a moment, but then he takes a deep breath. “But it has been… rough.” He started, “You’re our main source of income, but what you make isn’t really enough to cover all three of us.” He sighs, “With Jun unemployed, and with things the way they are… I have to foot the rest of the bill.” He purses his lips a little, “And that means that I have to work a lot more than I’d like to, and it leads to exhaustion, mistakes and…” he closes his eyes with strength, and breathes in sharply.

“…Vee?” He asks, my ears perk up a little, “…I’m going to tell you something, do you promise to stay calm?” This is never a good question to get, but I nod slowly anyway. If he wants to me stay calm, then the least I can do right now is to do exactly that, for him.

“…I was fired from the noodle shop a few days ago.”

I can feel my eyes grow in surprise and a small panic starts growing inside of my chest – if he’s been fired then that means that we’ll ha—

I feel myself get pulled, I can feel the hand at the back of my head gripping my tightly, pulling me towards his neck as he lowers his head, resting his chin on my head. I can feel his warmth encompassing most of my body as he tightens his grip, “ _Stop._ ” He says, his shoulders raising slightly, “Breathe.” He continues, “It’ll be fine… just breathe.”

I can tell by how tightly he’s holding me that he’s serious about this. Fuck, it took me less than two seconds to break a promise I had _just_ made to him. But still, what was I supposed to do? If he’s fired, then that means we _really_ don’t have money to support ourselves anymore! It means we’ll have to start cutting on things and—

“Breathe.” He repeats, lower this time.

Just… breathe, Veemon. Breathe. Deep breaths. Stay calm. You made a promise. Breathe. Stay calm and breathe.

The slow movement of his chest continues unabated throughout all of this, and that, beyond even my own breathing, is what ends up calming me down. It’s his grip and his warmth that let me turn off my mind again, the sweet scent coming from him that forces my muscles to relax again. I close my eyes, leaning my head into his neck again, before the finally relaxes his own grip on me.

He pulls back and I turn my head back up to look at him, his mouth turned into a thin line, his expression sadder than before, I open my mouth, “I’m—” but he immediately shakes his head. _Don’t apologize_. Is what he’s saying, wordlessly. _But I am a little disappointed._ Is what his expression tells me.

He lets go of my head, ruffling his own hair for a moment, “…I’ve spoken to Takato about it, he’ll try to get me a job at the bakery he works at.” He exhales a bit, “So things will be fine in the end, don’t worry.” I can tell from his gaze that he knows as well as I do that it won’t make me not worry, not until he has the job, not until things are certain.

“But that’s not really what I wanted to talk about.” He sighs, “It’s just… outside of you, outside of work, I haven’t really… done anything.” He blinks his eyes a few times, “…With other people, I mean.” He blinks again a few times, and then sighs, “Just… I haven’t hung out with the others.”

“Yeah…” I let out, a familiar sense of loneliness coming over me, “And it’s just… it’s been rough living the same dreadful day over and over again.” He exhales strongly, “Just… get up, go to work, maybe do groceries if we need to, if I have the time, come back home, get to be with you for a bit if I’m lucky, and sleep.” He stops, and lowers his head, his eyes closed, his forehead touching mine, “…Over and over and over again. Like I’m stuck in the most monotonous and boring and _stressful_ of time loops.”

I raise my hand towards him, placing it on his neck, my thumb gently caressing his cheek, “…I know what you mean…” I whisper, softly, “…I’ve been having that same day for the last two years too.”

“That feeling of always being drained no matter how much you rest, that feeling like you have to do better, that you have to do _more_ , but you can’t. That feeling of being trapped in a cycle you can’t escape, that numbness that comes over you when you realize that you’re doing the exact same thing you did yesterday. And every time you get something slightly different, it is undercut by all of the other things that are exactly the same. I know that feeling. That feeling of loneliness and how the entire world seems to just lose its color.”

I know it all too well.

I hug him tightly with my other arm, squeezing him a bit, “…I know it. And you’ve been my port in the storm against that feeling too.”

I can feel Davis kiss the top of my head again, the sharp breath he takes as he keeps himself from sobbing. He holds me tighter for a second, squeezing me just as I squeeze him for reassurance, “I hope I help put some color back into your world again, Davis.”

* * *

_“You already do.”_

His voice was so meek that his own ears almost don’t catch it, and what little voice he still had was broken by the sobs that started coming. He couldn’t hold them back; he felt the tears start to stream down his face before he was even sure of what was happening. That feeling – that feeling of when someone describes what you’re going through in words that you yourself couldn’t find. It’s like a wound that opens deep inside of your heart, like the breaking of a dam that makes you want to cry and scream simultaneously. All of those feelings that had been holding back because they were inconvenient, because they wouldn’t change anything, come crashing down to be released all at once. The quiet dread and despair as you realize that the things you used to do for fun no longer bring you joy, how you find yourself being angrier and more irritable at people, how you start losing patience more quickly, how you realize that you’re focusing so much on the pain that you’re feeling that you haven’t stopped to consider others – how shitty that makes you feel, further enhancing the pain and the dread that wells up deep inside of you.

And how you do everything in your power to push it all down, and the feelings turn to numbness, the world starts to lose its color, you stop noticing the beauty in the world. You start thinking entirely with your logical brain because your emotional brain is so constantly overwhelmed and busy trying to keep that lump at the back of your throat from existing. How that lump never quite goes away. And how, in the end, all it leads to is a need to sit down on your bed and look at nothingness, because you’re too tired to do anything. Because you’re too tired to care.

Because you’re too tired to live in this dreadful, colorless world anymore.

But as he clutched Veemon tightly, as he felt the tears stream down his face and his sobs getting stronger and stronger, as he felt Veemon quietly rubbing his thumb on his cheek, without saying a word, just his warm body and tight embrace around him… he felt relief.

This relief that he’s not alone, that someone understands him so incredibly well, that someone was able to give a voice to his emotions, a voice to all of the things that he knew he wanted to say but never could. That lump in the back of his throat finally vanishing entirely as the dam of emotions burst and left him without this great weight around his chest, this tightness that prevented him from speaking, a tightness so great that for the first time in many months, Davis finally felt he could _breathe._

When his sobs finally started to die down, when his breathing finally allowed him the mercy of normalizing, when the tears finally started to run out, he felt Veemon push away slightly, and look towards him. With one hand, Veemon started to wipe away the tears from his face, gently, encouragingly, all the while he kept that same warm smile, those beautiful eyes in front of him wordlessly telling him everything he needed to hear – _I will always be here for you._

And as Veemon wiped away the last of his tears and smiles a little wider, he asked – “Are you feeling better?”

Davis smiled back, letting out a long, happier sigh. The small blue dragon in front of him squeezing his shoulder – “Yeah…” Davis let out, and he kissed Veemon’s forehead. “…I’m feeling a lot better.”

Veemon smiled, and then, after a moment, his eyes lit up, his ears twitched slightly, he raised both eyebrows and both hands, that little, tiny jump he had when he was excited about an idea. “Oh, I know!” he let out, smiling back at Davis, “Why don’t we go out with Takato tomorrow? Hang around at his place, with Guilmon?”

Davis tilted his head slightly, but Veemon only smiled a bit more, “Gatomon gave me and Guilmon the day off tomorrow, and it’s a Sunday!” he continued, “It’d be a great way to break out of our routines and do something a bit different.”

Veemon’s smile became a little softer as he hugged Davis’s neck with both arms, “…And I think it’d be a great way to put some more color into your world.” He blinked a little, “What do you think?”

Takato… It’d be great to really talk to him again. Davis and Takato had become friends mostly because of Veemon and Guilmon, and they’d never gotten as close as Davis would’ve liked. He always enjoyed Takato’s demeanor, maybe this would be the perfect way to get closer to him. Be friends. Hang out.

Davis nodded, smiling, “Sure.” He answered, voice still low, “That sounds like a great idea.”

Veemon nodded back, and placed his head back on Davis’s chest, nuzzling it slightly. Davis hugged the little dragon tightly, and laid himself back down on the bed, pulling Veemon’s head into his neck. “Do you mind if we…” Davis could feel his cheeks getting hot, “…Sleep like this?” he wasn’t sure why, they had done this only a day ago.

“Of course not, silly.” Veemon replied, placing a small kiss on his neck, and then nuzzling it much like how he did Davis’s chest earlier. He reached for the blanket, and draped both of them under it, before he felt the little caresses across the side of his belly, “…Good night, Davis.” He said.

Davis ran his own fingers through Veemon’s back, feeling the smooth scales under his touch, it was impossible to tell when one ended and the other began, this feeling of soothing smoothness that made Davis like touching Veemon all the more. He ran his fingers around the little spikes protruding from the Digimon’s back, feeling calm as Veemon quietly placed another affectionate nuzzle on his neck. Veemon’s breathing touched Davis’s neck every few moments, and as he finally closed his eyes, emptying his mind with the motions he made around Veemon’s body, he could feel himself engulfed in the warmth of his body, smiling.

“Good night, Vee.”

September 7th, 2025  
10:12AM

The sound of the doorbell ringing was the first thing to break him out of his extreme focus. It was weird, he had thought about this moment all morning, but even in walking here, even with the movement from inside of the bag he brought, it didn’t exactly feel real. It didn’t feel like it was something he was actually getting to do.

And yet, “I’ll be right there!” the voice from inside came, Davis looked to the side for a second, a flock of birds flying over the apartment block, the sound of cars moving through the streets, the odd sounds of conversation here and there. He had forgotten what it was like to just look around – a faint song coming from somewhere, difficult to know if it was some shop playing music or a band making a ruckus a few blocks down.

When he looked back at the door, he heard it opening, and using that same blue hoodie with the same thrown-on casual pants as ever, he saw Takato, his hair looking a little more frazzled than usual. “You came in early.” He smiled, “Come on in.”

“Thanks for having us.” Davis replied, entering the home and kneeling down as Takato closed the door, “Sorry if things are a bit of a mess.” Takato continued, locking it behind the guest, as Davis took his bag off his back and opened up the already-partially-open zipper. “You did call in on short notice.”

From inside the bag came the little blue creature with the same weird ears, the same colored eyes, the same long tail – just smaller, really, and less muscly. “Ah, I felt like I was going to suffocate in there!” DemiVeemon let out, shaking his head, and Davis chuckled, “You had plenty of air in there, come on.”

Davis took his Digivice from his belt and as the small screen glowed, so did the little Digimon that he brought with him, turning back into the blue, muscly dragon creature. “Ah…” Veemon started, stretching out his entire body, the little “pops” as his back cracked could be heard if you paid enough attention, “Much better.”

After placing his Digivice back on his belt, he took the time to look around. The apartment wasn’t anything particularly special, he thought, a couch for two in front of a small TV on a wooden table that looked like a hand-me-down. A carpet and a coffee table for the living room, and a small corridor leading to three other rooms – the one on the left, judging by the noise, was probably the kitchen.

Granted, his definition of “nothing special” was likely a bit skewed at this point, people with their income probably couldn’t afford a 4-room apartment like this one, not without the army.

Davis closes his bag and sets it against the wall, before Takato starts walking, “Do you mind helping us? I just did some grocery shopping for the day, Guilmon’s putting it all away.” He started, and Davis, smiling, got up and walked behind Takato. Their kitchen, much like Davis’s, also wasn’t anything special – the table was small, barely enough for two people, and the fridge, the stove and the sink took most of the rest of the space. Guilmon was quietly taking the groceries off the floor and placing the relevant bits into the cupboards he could reach, when Davis walked in, Veemon right behind.

The red dragon’s ears twitched slightly, “Oh, you two really are early.” He smiled, “Hey. Sorry for the mess.” Davis shook his head, “It’s fine, not like our home is much different on a good day.” Guilmon simply chuckled in response.

Davis went to look at the grocery bags that were on the table, untying one – “What are we having for lunch?” he asked, “Noodles.” Takato replied from somewhere behind him, “Afraid that’s the best I can do on short notice.”

“It ain’t like we were going to eat gourmet food before you two called though.” Guilmon replied, chuckling under his breath, the sound of another cupboard opening as Davis took the packet of noodles off the bag, “I’m surprised you didn’t buy them instant.” The smile on his face carrying to his tone.

“Can’t have guests and cook them instant noodles, I have _some_ decency.” Takato replied, “Plus…” He could hear Takato exhale, and then turn on the faucet on the sink – “I was thinking we could cook lunch together?” he voice sounded as if he had turned his head over his shoulder to talk to Davis, although the faucet continued to run.

At the edge of his vision, Davis could see Veemon approaching Guilmon to help him put the relevant things in the fridge, “Honestly? That sounds like fun.” Davis replied, emptying the bag and setting it aside, “Maybe we could get these two to help too.” He chuckled again, “Then again, maybe not, if Guilmon’s as good at cooking as Veemon is, it’d be a disaster.”

“Hey!” Guilmon raised his voice, and as Davis turned to him, he could see the small pout, “I’ll have you know I cook a mean barbecue!”

“Correction, you’re really good at _setting the fire_ for the barbecue.” Takato continued, “I do most of the work.” And Guilmon pouted harder, “Is this going to be a day full of your two bullying me or something?”

“Better get used to it.” Veemon replied, with a few encouraging pats on the back, “And Davis? The only reason I suck at cooking is because you’re a terrible teacher.” He continued, showing his tongue towards the man, who only laughed in reply.

As Davis continued to empty out the bags, he smiled a little more brightly, but Guilmon approached, small pout still in his face. He said nothing as he grabbed the packets Davis removed from the bag and went towards the cupboards, but with a smirk and a raised eyebrow, Davis turned to Takato – “Y’know, we could have them do some of the prep work.”

All three turned towards Davis at the same moment, Guilmon looking incredulous, while Veemon sighed with a smile to his face, Takato looked curious for a second, before smiling and turning off the faucet, “Actually, that might be a good idea. Maybe I’ll be a better teacher than you are.” Takato replied, smiling, and Veemon crossed his arms, “Oh, believe me, it’s hard to be a worse teacher than Davis is.”

Davis looked towards the blue dragon with a mock pout, smiling after only a second, “I can’t exactly hold a knife or anything, so I’m not so sure how much help I could be.” Guilmon remarked, and Takato replied by approaching the red dragon and grabbing to one of his claws, “You don’t need to hold a knife when you have three of them right here.”

“Takato, that sounds _incredibly_ gross.” Guilmon replied, frowning, “I thought you cared a lot about cleanliness and stuff?” and Takato smiled, “Just wash your damn claws before you put them on the food, dummy.”

“Yeah, but then my claws are going to get all… gross and full of food and stuff.” Guilmon gave a pained frown, and Takato shook his head, “You’re not worming your way out of helping. _Especially_ not with a flimsy excuse like that.”

Davis simply looked towards Veemon, who shrugged with a smile. It was going to be a fun day.

* * *

Cooking lunch was, predictably, very chaotic.

As soon as everything was put away properly, and as soon as Takato had finished cleaning what was needed, the four got to work on the meal. The water was boiled – Guilmon tried to light the fire himself, but Takato insisted that he didn’t burn the whole damn place down – and while it did, they got to work on the prep work, cutting the meats and the veggies, but only after Takato forced Guilmon to _very thoroughly_ clean his claws.

After Takato got the all of the necessary ingredients, the group got to cutting them as needed – Davis took care of the seasoning and the sauce, while the Digimon got instructed by Takato on how to properly cut each of the ingredients. As Davis quickly realized, Guilmon was a diligent, if slow worker, cutting the meets very carefully just as Takato described, and as Takato quickly realized, Veemon was not the exactly the best student, cutting the vegetables in every which way and having to be forced to cut them in more manageable pieces and to _not make a mess while doing so._

Davis chuckled a lot while he saw Takato teaching the two, and how remarkably different they were as students. Eventually, Veemon did get to make a serviceable job, but Davis had to go help cut the rest of the meats as Guilmon was lagging a bit behind – although Davis did make sure to point out, Guilmon was actually doing as instructed, and speed would come with practice.

And while the two men worked on the actual cooking part of the noodles, he also remembered how very thoroughly Guilmon cleaned his claws afterwards, unprompted. “Listen, I hate it when my claws feel gross.” Was the only explanation he gave to that.

Now, with the two Digimon waiting in the living room, the two men diligently placed the bowls on the table, “You know.” Takato started, “You seem to really enjoy cooking.”

“There’s a reason I went to work for a noodle restaurant.” Davis smiled, “I love making something that makes people smile.” And he gave a throaty chuckle, “And what better way to do that than good food?”

“Point.” Takato replied, “Still, even if you’re not the best teacher—”

“Veemon ain’t exactly the best student either.”

Takato laughed, “True. But still, even if you’re not the best teacher, I think your diligence means we’ll work together great.” He continued.

Davis raised an eyebrow, “Did you do this just to see how I do my work?”

“Partially, yeah.” Takato gave a small shrug, “I did think it would be fun to do though, and it was.” He looked back at Davis with a sideways smile, “Plus, if you do get the job, you’re going to be my responsibility, so I gotta know what I’m getting myself into.”

“Y’know what? Fair.” Davis replied as they finished setting the table. “Hopefully I wasn’t difficult to work with.”

“You did the job.” Takato shrugged again, “We’re not exactly going to be cooking noodles at the bakery, so obviously things are going to be a bit different.” He smiled again, “I do hope you know how to bake.”

“I know how to bake!” Davis pouted, “…I just don’t bake very often.”

Takato gave a hearty laugh, “Yeah, that’s what I thought.” He replied, “Don’t worry, I’ll make a good baker out of you yet.” He continued, patting Davis’s shoulder a few times, before turning to the living room, “Food’s ready, you two.”

* * *

Lunch had been better than Davis expected, all things considered. He didn’t really know that he was holding a breath on whether the noodles would turn out good or not – with his part being such an important part of actually making the noodles taste good, he ended up releasing a breath that he didn’t know he was holding when they were given glowing reviews by everyone at the table.

It was still funny seeing how Guilmon had to quite literally chow down on them, though. He forgot that he couldn’t hold chopsticks with those claws of his. Takato seemed unfazed by it, while Davis – and Veemon – got a good laugh of seeing Guilmon’s face completely covered in the sauce and the noodles.

That had been a few hours ago at this point though. Conversation had been lively for a while, Takato going over some other stories he had to tell, with Davis telling some of the ones from before all of this started. But now, the four of them sat on the living room – Takato and Guilmon on the couch, and Veemon sitting on Davis’s lap, on an older armchair Takato had in the bedroom that they moved to the living room – and watched movies as they came up on the TV.

They had watched a few already – the first, a comedic movie about a restaurant that tried to impress a food critic, when the head chef becomes indisposed and the main character, with little to no experience handling a kitchen, alongside the critic’s assistant, have to present a course that would impress. Guilmon and Veemon seemed to love the movie, although Davis could see Takato cringe at the health violations just as much as he did – still, it was an entertaining movie nonetheless, where the main character took full responsibility for any issues that happened, and the end revealed that the critic was genuinely impressed by the food, but couldn’t place a glowing review on the restaurant because the food wasn’t actually handled by the head chef.

The second movie was a lot more dramatic though, it was a movie of intrigue and espionage happening on the background of a cricket match, with no less than four different factions all vying for the same thing – blackmail against the man running and sponsor the cricket match itself. The main character, a substitute player uninvolved with any of the factions, ended up getting caught in the middle of it all, and his independence meant that he could play all four factions to get the blackmail for himself. This movie ended up being a lot more entertaining for Davis and Takato than it was for Veemon and Guilmon, although Veemon still did seem genuinely interested in the outcome, while Guilmon seemed more interested in nuzzling Takato. The movie ended with the reveal that the thing the sponsor was trying to cover up were several dubiously legal and outright illegal money-making schemes that could lose him his career if found. The main character decides to give the papers back to the sponsor in the end – believing the glowing reviews of all of his workers about how good of a boss he was, and believing the sponsor himself saying that he only stole from people who were above him, so he could make better conditions for his workers. Rather predictably, the movie leaves it up in the air whether the sponsor was actually telling the truth or not.

Now, they were watching what was very clearly a con movie about a horse race, the first thing Takato did when the movie started was lay down on Guilmon’s lap, “I saw this one already.” Was what he said, and Guilmon seemed entertained enough by playing with Takato’s hair to pay much attention to the movie.

Veemon, however, was practically _enamored_ by it. The main character, wanting to win big on a horse race to pay for his son’s college fund, goes to someone, an Argentinian woman, who made her entire fortune by winning big at these horse races. Davis stopped paying attention midway through, knowing exactly how these kinds of movies go, opting instead to start playing with Veemon on his lap.

He started twirling his finger around one of Veemon’s ears, hearing the small giggle that came from the Digimon in response. Despite this, Veemon was still laser-focused on the drama and the plot happening in the movie, apparently, said Argentinian woman had encouraged the main character to cheat, to which Davis snorted – “Well, that’s a bit on the nose, isn’t it?”

“Yep.” Takato answered, and the movie went on. Davis started to make a little game out of trying to break Veemon’s concentration without being too obvious about it – first by twirling on his ears a bit more, then by running his hand on the little spikes on Veemon’s back, which only got a small shudder from the dragon. Playing with his tail seemed less effective than he had hoped – even as he ran his hand to the base and back up. Veemon, apparently, either did not notice or did not care that Davis was getting to close to his privates.

“Oooh!” Veemon let out, maybe a bit higher than was polite, and Davis turned his attention back to the movie. Apparently, the main character had met the three horses and jockeys that were most likely to win the race, had picked one of them, and intended to cheat to get them to win the race, somehow. There was also something about a deal that Argentinian woman had done? He didn’t quite catch the context.

“Are you rooting for the guy trying to cheat?” Davis whispered in Veemon’s ear, and that was enough to get the little dragon to turn to him, his cheeks slightly red, “Well uh… no?” he was such a bad liar, Davis could only laugh a little at it.

Davis busied himself with playing with Veemon’s body, trying his best to keep in mind that Guilmon and Takato were here too. A little kiss on the neck, a tight hug, resting his chin on Veemon’s head – all of these got small reactions from Veemon, but none of them actually broke his concentration.

The climax of the movie came when the main character suddenly grew a conscience and realized that _cheating is wrong_ (“Shocker.” Was Davis’s only reaction to this astute observation from the protagonist), and in the end, decided to undo all of the cheating he had just done for the horse race, which ended up with him losing, but the Argentinian woman winning. There ended up being something about how she was giving all of her worldly possessions to whoever won the race, and whoever she betted on was supposed to be some sort of side-deal? There was a part where some man in a suit came to “get everything she owes”, and she simply took off her necklace and gave it him, since she no longer had anything, because she was giving it to the race’s winner.

“Oh that’s so clever!” Veemon let out, and Davis simply laughed under his breath. A small ringtone started to play, to which Takato raised his head, “Oh, that’s mine.” He started, getting up and reaching for the coffee table, where his phone was.

Davis looked at him for a second before he picked up the phone, and frowned towards it, “Sorry guys, give me a second, I gotta pick this up.” He started. Guilmon gave a small whine, and Takato replied by petting his head slightly before walking towards the corridor and into his room, “Hey chief.” He could hear Takato saying before closing the door behind him.

“Did I know the jockeys were in cahoots?” the Argentinian woman in the movie said, “My dear, I _put them_ in cahoots.” And even without looking, Davis could tell that Veemon’s eyes practically bulged out of their sockets when he heard that, “Ohhhhh that’s so good!” he said, barely containing his excitement.

“Yeah, that’s usually how these movies go.” Davis laughed, to which Veemon finally turned to him, pouting, “Well, still, I liked it.” Davis simply shook his head. The movie ended with the woman going back to her homeland and sending the main character a letter that basically said “money can buy stability but it can’t buy happiness”, something that Davis couldn’t help but scoff at – even Veemon seemed a little put off by that line, especially when, at the very end, the main character discovers that a very large amount of money had been deposited to his account, to pay for the college fund, courtesy of “Doña Villar” – oh, so that’s the woman’s name.

Still, as the credits started to roll, Veemon settled into a comfortable position on Davis’s lap, smiling a bit, but just as soon as the Digimon looked upwards to say something, Davis could feel his own phone buzzing in his pocket. “Oh.” Davis started, to a pouting Veemon.

As he grabbed the phone and looked at the screen however, the caller ID read “Jun”.

“Huh.” He started, pressing the button to pick up the call, “Sis? What’s up?”

“Don’t be alarmed, please.” He could hear her voice on the other side, “But I’m gonna need you two to come back like, soonish?” her voice sounded as confused as Davis himself was – “What happened?” the man asked.

“Apparently, we’re going to Miami Beach.” A pause, “Tomorrow.”

Davis blinked a few times, “…’scuse me?”

“So I went into your room to change out your bedsheets and stuff.” She started, “…And I saw this weird black box on your desk?” Davis raised both eyebrows, “It had a note attached to it, just reading ‘pack your things and be ready tomorrow morning’, it was signed by Gatomon.” A small pause, “Then I opened the box and saw three plane tickets to Miami Beach, some money to pay the cab and a paper with instructions on where we should go.”

“You’re shitting me.” Davis said, but he could almost feel her headshake, “Nope, completely serious. I need you two here to help me pack and get a good night’s sleep. Apparently, we need to be out of here by six-thirty.”

“Uhhh… Okay?” Davis was just as incredulous on this as this conversation started, the back of his mind shouting that this was some prank by Jun, or some weird excuse to get him to help on household chores – he did skimp out on those today to come here – but then his logical brain started screaming that Jun doesn’t… really… do that? Not anymore at least. It was a weird dissonance in his mind that left him with just the answer of, “We’ll… get there in a bit, I guess.”

Of course, half the reason he was even considering this in the first place was because Jun sounded just as confused as he was. “Yeah, I’ll get started on an early dinner for us then.”

The call ended, and Davis just turned to look at his phone’s screen incredulously. “So uh… what’s up?” Veemon asked, but before Davis could answer, he heard the footsteps coming from the corridor – “Looks like you had a weird phone call too.” Takato said, phone still in hand, a weird black box in the other.

Davis blinked a few times, “…Have you opened that thing yet?” he pointed towards the box, and Takato nodded, “Two plane tickets to Miami Beach, money for the cab and instructions on where to go.”

“I’m sorry?” “What?” Veemon and Guilmon spoke at exactly the same time. And Takato nodded, “Uh, yeah, apparently the army is paying for a vacation for us?” he scratched his head with his phone hand, “This is… kind of out of nowhere.”

“Can you even go? Don’t you have work tomorrow?” Davis asked.

“Yeah uh, the call was my boss?” Takato started, obviously just as confused. “He told me to take like, ten days off? And he’s giving me full paid leave for all these days?” a pause, “…I had to ask him if he had a fever or something, but he just wants me to take days off.”

“That’s…” Davis trailed off, turning back towards the two Digimon. He raised both eyebrows when he noticed both of them looking and smiling towards each other, looking incredibly pleased with themselves. “I think you got through to her.” Guilmon started, and Veemon nodded enthusiastically.

“Care to fill us in?” Davis asked, but Veemon shook his head, “I can do that later.” He then turned fully towards Davis, kneeling on top of the man’s lap, “Come on, we gotta get home and pack.” He smiled, “We have a vacation to go to.”

Davis smiled back, “I guess we do.”


	7. Respite

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the longest chapter yet, clocking in at around 11.6k words. I'm not sure whether to blame my pacing or whether to blame the fact I cannot keep things concise for the life of me, but it is what it is.
> 
> Minor NSFW warning for the end of the chapter, by the way. You get a glimpse as to why I tagged this fanfic "explicit" there.

September 8th, 2025  
6:12AM

“You got everything you wanted?” I ask, smiling to him as he closes the zipper on one of the travel bags, putting it over his shoulder. “Yeah, I think that’s everything.” Davis replies, smiling.

“Better be, I think you checked it five times.” I laugh, and Davis pouts in response, “Only four.” He replies, then smiles back with a small laugh, “You got anything you want to bring with? I think this will be your last chance.”

I look towards the clock, it’s almost time – “I think I’m fine.” Then I turn back to him, with a grin, “Unless you want me to bring the console so I can kick your ass again?”

“You wish.” Davis replies with a raised eyebrow and a small grin, “Anyway, I think we’re done, which means…” he picks his digivice with the other hand, and I sigh. “Are we doing the plushie thing or are you stuffing me into one of the bags?”

He raises both eyebrows, and blinks twice, “We’re doing the plushie thing, of course.” He replies, “If I stuck you into one of the bags, you’d have a _really_ bad time in the car.”

“I appreciate it.” Pretending to be a plushie does mean that I have to be _very still_ all the time, which is very annoying, but that’s still better than being inside of Davis’s old bags.

The digivice in Davis’s hand starts to glow, and just as quickly I feel that weird sense of the devolution. I lose all of the senses in my body for just a moment, and then as I open my eyes, I can feel myself in the tiny body of DemiVeemon again, moving my tiny arms on top of the bed.

Davis reaches out to grab me, and places me against his chest, I take the moment to bury my face in it, smiling and giving him small nuzzles. I can hear Davis let out a very small “heh” before he turns around and opens the door.

“Oh, Davis.” I can hear right from outside, Jun’s voice – “You two about done?”

“Yeah.” Davis replies, “Was just going to grab you now.”

“I’m ready, let’s go then.” I turn around slightly, to see that Jun is carrying three bags – one on each shoulder and one on her off-hand, opening the door.

September 8th, 2025  
7:58AM

“We’re here.” Davis starts, and I finally look up from my comfortable reverie – was I almost falling asleep on his chest? Damn.

I look around, blinking a few times to clear my vision, I can see what seems to be a large waiting area of sorts, with rows and rows of chairs and at least two TVs I can immediately see, showing the news. I can also see what looks to be a coffee shop? But there’s no one behind the counter, it seems to be closed.

I can also see several of the others though, sitting down and waving towards us. “You guys are here on good time.” I hear Tai’s voice, sat down next to his sister, “Glad you guys could make it.” Kari continues with a smile.

Aside from Tai and Kari, I can see Takeru and Matt next to them, I can see Joe off to the side, writing on a piece of paper, and Izzy a few rows forward, doing something or other on his laptop. I look a bit around, but I don’t see their Digimon anywhere.

“You might want to leave Vee with the others.” Matt pipes up, pointing towards the opposite side of the lounge, “You can’t see that side of the lounge from the outside, so they’re there.”

Davis sets me down on the ground and kneels, his Digivice glowing once again, and much like before, I can feel my senses leave my body for just a moment before I blink twice and see myself back in the body I’m most comfortable in. Davis smiles, “We’ll pick you up once it’s time for the actual flight.” I nod my head, and start running towards the opposite side of the lounge.

When I approach past the rows of chairs, the first thing I see is the yellow lizard-like creature with the big horn atop his forehead, chatting with Patamon. His big fur white-with-blue-stripes fur coat immediately giving his identity away. “Hey Gabumon.” I slap his back as I approach, earning a surprised “yelp” of him. “Haven’t seen you in a while.”

Gabumon turns around quickly, startled, but sighs and smiles, “Yeah, it’s been a bit, Vee.” Patamon nods in my direction right afterwards, “How are things?”

I shrug, a grin on my face, “Eh, I guess I can’t exactly complain?” a chuckle under my breath, but “That’s not what I heard.” Comes right afterwards. I look up a bit, to see the small seal Digimon approaching us three, “Sounds like you had some issues two days ago.” Gomamon says, not a hint of malice in his voice.

Next to him, I can see the fully small yellow dinosaur with the three long claws in each of his four limbs, the stubby tail that moved slightly as he walked, “Yeah, are you okay?” Agumon asks, and on the opposite side of Gomamon, I can see the red bug-like Digimon slowly walking along, his big claws lowered, his two large green eyes almost as distracting as the two twitching antennae on his head. “From what I gather, you and Guilmon ran into some issues?” Tentomon asks.

I pout towards Gomamon, “Man, how _do_ you get _and_ spread gossip so fast?” I ask, and Gomamon responds with a sympathetic smile, “Wasn’t me this time.” He responds, “The fire got out of control very quickly, most of the forest burned down. You could see the smoke from almost anywhere in the Digital World.” He pauses, “The only part I let slip was that you and Guilmon were there when it happened.”

“Well, then technically, it _was_ you this time.” Tentomon chimes in, and Gomamon laughs, “Details!”

I sigh, but smile, before showing my tongue to Gomamon for just a second in defiance. The seal just laughs in response.

“Well, I don’t think there’s much _to_ tell.” I reply, crossing my arms, “Guil and I were ambushed by a Cerberumon and while we were taking care of it, it set the forest on fire.”

“One Cerberumon set the whole forest on fire?” Gabumon asks, and Agumon nods, “I think the D-Sector was marked as a massive fire hazard for a while, it’s why I never got assigned there.” He pauses, “My flames could potentially burn the whole place down.”

“Wouldn’t that also apply to Guilmon?” Patamon asks, and I shake my head, “Guil’s attacks only produce short-lasting fire. It’d burn, but not for very long.”

“The fact you can say that with such ease and confidence kind of scares me.” Gomamon says, and then grins, “Are you sure the two of you are just friends?”

Everyone looks to me for a second, eyebrow raised, except for Patamon, who simply lets out a small scoff, “What, really?” I reply, and immediately everyone starts laughing. Agumon gently bumps into me with his shoulder, “Of course not, dumbass.” He says, smiling, “We’re just joking.”

I laugh a little louder than is probably polite in response, “It’s just, you seemed kind of upset the last time I saw you.” Agumon starts, “So I wanted to make sure you were doing okay.”

“Agumon, the last time I saw you was like…” I blink a few times, “…Was that in January?” Holy damn does time fly.

“February, actually.” Agumon replies, “Still, way too long ago.” He smiles.

“Since the whole group is coming for this, we wanted to make up for lost time!” Tentomon says, raising both of his claws a little excitedly, “I know I saw Gomamon just last week, but I haven’t seen Biyomon or Hawkmon or Palmon in months!”

“I guess we all have a lot of catching up to do.” I reply, smiling, but then I raise my head, to look past the group, and see her. The white cat with the big ears and the way paws, Gatomon is looking out the window through the traffic below, as hectic and as chaotic as ever. She does not spare a glance towards the rest of us.

“Leave her be.” Gabumon shakes his head as I turn back towards him, “She asked to be left alone.”

I turn towards Patamon, who is looking to the side, clearly ashamed of something. He looks me in the eye for just a moment, before gazing back to Gatomon. I close my eyes and nod.

* * *

“Where is Sora anyway?” Davis asked, looking towards the rest of the guys next to him. Jun was a few rows back, having whisked Kari away for a conversation “between girls”, which Kari readily agreed with. Matt rolled his eyes in exasperation, “Said she had a few errands to run early on, didn’t say what.” A pause, he reached for his phone and after looking at the screen for a second – “She should be here soon, though.”

“Don’t worry Matt, I’m sure Davis’s sister will steal her away as soon as she arrives.” Tai smiled, and Matt snorted in response, “Wouldn’t be surprised, you see how quickly she did that?” he laughed.

“Yeah, that’s Jun.” Davis responded, “Frankly I think she was just looking for the first opportunity to get rid of me.”

“Harsh.” Tai smiled, “But I can understand. Kari does that sometimes.” He continued, and Takeru, elbow on knee and face on his hand, grins, “Not to me, she doesn’t.” he starts, “Maybe if you weren’t so clingy she wouldn’t want to run away from you.”

Tai immediately did a takeback, “W-What?” he asked, “No I don’t cling to her! If anything she—”

“Tai.” Matt interrupted, “My little brother is fucking with you.”

Tai frowned towards Takeru, who only laughed in response, “And you fell for it.” He started, and Tai sighed, “Since when did you become such an ass?”

“Seventeen.” Matt replied, “Although only with me, back then. Good to see I’m not the only one taking the heat anymore.” He grinned towards Tai, who started to grumble slightly.

Davis shook his head, “Damn Takeru, I didn’t know you were like that.” He said, and the man laughed a little louder, “Only with people who I know won’t get offended when I do it.” He smiled.

“And you’re the model brother to everyone else.” Matt continued, “I wish you weren’t so good at faking it.”

All four of them laughed a bit louder, and Takeru relaxed back on his seat after a moment, letting out a satisfied sigh, Matt’s only reply was a grunt.

“How have things been going for you guys?” Davis asked, “Takato told me you guys had a day out not too long ago?”

“Oh, that.” Tai smiled devilishly, and Matt shook his head in exasperation, “Yeah, we did. It was a fun time. Sora had Matt wear—”

“Please let’s not start this again.” Matt pinched the bridge of his nose, in exasperation, “She fully admitted it was just to make me embarrassed in front of you guys because I broke a promise, alright?” a pause, “Can we _please_ let it go?”

“Nope.” Tai replied, smiling. “But I’ll spare you, just this once.”

Matt turned to Tai with a frown, _“Thank you._ ” The sarcasm oozed from his tone.

“Still, we’ve been out a few times the last few months.” Tai started, “It’s hard to find schedules that works with everyone, what’s with people trying to find jobs and some people working weekends and…” he trailed off, making vague gestures with his hand, “…and y’know, the everything. I’m surprised Matt even had enough time to hang out that day.”

“Well I did finally manage to find a stable job.” Matt replied, “Not a whole lot of demand for astronauts right now.” He grunted, “At least I can still play good enough to be in a band.”

“What were you working on again?” Davis asked, and Matt breathed in deeply, “I’m working with a band to make the soundtrack for a small movie.” He started, “It’s very small stuff, but it’s enough.”

“What about you Takeru?” Davis asked, but before Takeru could answer, Tai rolled his eyes in exasperation, “Man, let’s not talk about work.” He started, “I don’t want to get like Joe over there.” He pointed towards the man a few chairs away from the rest of the group.

“I can hear you.” Joe replied, still writing something on his notebook, and Tai raised his voice just a little in response – “Good!” he said, and sighed, “…Or worse, Izzy.”

Izzy, who was a few rows ahead of them, continued working on his laptop without noticing Tai’s remark, “Literally every single time I see him, he’s working on something.” He says, “I don’t even know on what.”

“Last I checked, he said he was a freelance programmer.” Takeru started, “That’d make sense, freelancers do have it rough.” He continued, and Tai shook his head, “I don’t know, I still think he should take a break every once in a while.”

“Actually, that reminds me.” Davis turned to Davis, who raised an eyebrow, “Is everyone coming?” he asked, “It was on such short notice for me, I wouldn’t be surprised if some people couldn’t make it.”

Tai shook his head, “Gatomon took care of everything.” He said, “Everyone’s confirmed coming, although some will be later than others, I wouldn’t be surprised if Mimi was the last one here.” He laughed.

“That’s… impressive.” Davis raised both eyebrows, “Gatomon got everyone time off and a trip to the other side of the world in… less than 24 hours?” he continued.

“I think I heard Kari ask her the same thing.” Takeru replied, “She just said something like… ‘it’s okay’ or something?” he shook his head, “I didn’t catch everything, but Gatomon seemed convinced that it was fine.”

“Well, actually, that does remind me.” Tai started, turning to Davis, “Davis, do you still play soccer?”

Davis blinked a few times, “Well uh… I’m a little rusty on it, but I can still play, yeah.”

“Good.” He smiled, “How about, during this vacation, you and I grab some teams from the destined and have a match or two?”

Davis grinned, “Of course, I can’t wait until I kick your ass.”

“Oh, is that how it is?” Tai smiled, “It’s _on._ ”

As the laughter filled the space between the four of them, Davis was glad for these interactions, he knew how much he missed them. Being with the Destined again brought a smile to Davis’s face that he had forgotten he could have for a while. The jokes and the bickering, the stories and the challenges. He was happy to be back here. _It’d be worth it to make an extra effort to be with the rest of the group from now on._ He thought, he knew he should’ve made that decision a lot sooner, it just didn’t really occur to him much.

He had a lot of lost time to make up for.

* * *

“Veemon?” I hear from the side, Patamon putting his tiny paw on my leg to call my attention. As I turn, he motions with his head for us to take a few steps away from the rest of the group.

“What’s up?” I ask as we do, this small privacy augmented by the growing group of Digimon that had arrived only a few minutes prior. Patamon’s face looked a little concerned, but as he took a very deep breath – his body inflating just a bit as he did that – he looked back towards me with a smile.

“I wanted to thank you.” He starts, I raise my eyebrow, but Patamon continues right afterwards – “For what you said to Gatomon two days ago.”

Oh.

“I talked to her after what you did.” Patamon starts, “It… wasn’t an easy conversation.” He turns to Gatomon for a second, melancholy on his expression, “But I think… I think she’ll be better now. She’s full of regret and shame over the way she’s been treating everyone.”

I chuckle bitterly, I’m not surprised. I could see it in her face that day. There’s a growing pain in my chest as I sigh – I didn’t _want_ to have to do that. I didn’t want to hurt her, but… but it was too much. The way she treated me, the way she treated everyone…

“So…” I turn to Gatomon as well, the cat still looking out the window, “I guess we have you to thank for this vacation?”

But to my surprise, he shakes his head, “No, actually, she came up with this on her own.” Patamon smiles, “I didn’t even know about it until… well until late last night.” His smile grows a little wider, “I think you got through to her more than I did.”

“I… did?” I blink a few times, and Patamon nods, “I think it’s what you said, that she wasn’t acting like the Gatomon you knew.” He sighs, “She… I think she realized she was acting too much like her old self. The self she hated.” He shakes his head, “I think you did most of the work, in the end.”

“Well uh…” I look towards her again, away from the rest of the group, and smile. “Do you think it’d be a bad idea for me to go thank her?” I ask, turning back to him. Patamon smiles back, “I think she’d appreciate it.” A small pause, “…And it would encourage her to keep this up going forward.” His smile widens.

I nod back to him, and start walking towards her, past the rest of the ground. She’s still looking out of the window, almost unmoving, even as I approach and place myself next to her. Her ear twitches slightly, but she doesn’t shift her gaze or move any other part of her body to acknowledge me.

I look out of the window for a brief moment, gazing upon the same scenery she is. There are cars moving around the street, and not far to the side you can see one of the planes that just took off, ascending at a steady pace. The sky above seems clear for the day, clouds almost nonexistent. It was a little chilly outside, I think, but in here the temperature is remarkably pleasant. You can see the people walking, coming and going from the airport and the neighboring streets. Suits and briefcases, people on calls and people messing with their phones, some more casual clothes, one small group of people seeming to be a little excited for what I can just presume is an outing just like ours. Everything looks serene and remarkably normal.

If you gazed at this for long enough, you could almost pretend.

“Hey.” I say, quietly, not turning towards her at first, “Good morning, Veemon.” She replies, her tone starting off curt, but lowering as she speaks, as if she’s trying to sound more cordial. I smile in her direction, “This whole thing was a big surprise for us.” I continue.

“It took a lot of work to make it happen on short notice.” Gatomon replied, still not looking to me, “But, I suppose, all good things require hard work.” She cracks just a tiny smile, but it looks a bit strained.

“Is everyone coming?” I ask, “Or were some people not able to make it?” her head lowers just a bit, whether in reaction or because she’s looking at something else, I can’t tell, “I extended the invitation to Impmon, but he hasn’t replied. I assume he isn’t coming.” She replies, with a sigh, “Everyone else is coming though, from all three generations.”

I smile, “That’s great, everyone needs a break, I think.” I scratch my head slightly, “What about Omega? Are they on vacation too?”

Gatomon turns her head in my direction just a bit, enough to be able to properly look to me from the corner of her eye. I can see her expression stiffen a little in response, but she exhales, and goes back to looking through the window, “Yeah, they’ll be a part of the vacation too.” She starts, “Both BlackGuilmon and Eve will be, as well as the rest of the team.” She blinks a few times, her ears flicking back and forth.

“Maybe I’ll be able to talk to them, then.” I smile back at her, “I’ve always been curious about them, who they are, what kinds of lives they live.” I chuckle a bit, “Granted, I’ve never even seen most of them, so I might be getting a little ahead of myself.”

“Some of them… wouldn’t be particularly happy to talk to you.” Gatomon starts, then her ears flick a bit more, “It’s… nothing personal, some just… aren’t the friendliest.”

“But some are, right?” I clap my hands slightly, “Who knows, maybe I could make a new friend.”

Gatomon exhales a bit, chuckling under her breath, “Yeah, maybe you could.”

“Well…” I look towards the rest of the group, most of them are now looking towards both of us, some seem concerned, others seem curious. Patamon is the only one smiling, he nods to me once when our gazes meet. “I just… I wanted to let you know that you don’t need to isolate yourself.”

She shifts her gaze a bit towards me again, she doesn’t talk, but both of her ears flick slightly, towards me, “I mean, I obviously can’t speak for everyone, but I don’t hold a grudge over the last two years or anything.” I smile, “I was worried about you, and from what I know about the others, I’d wager they were too.”

I shake my head, “You’re a friend to most of us. I know you’ve been through some rough times, we all did, and I think we all would understand.” I sigh, “None of us came out of the war unscathed.”

I know I’m repeating myself, but this… I need to say this. “It was scary seeing you become so different, it reminded me over and over about how the old days were over. How nothing of what I knew of the old world was true anymore.” I blink a few times, clearing my foggy vision.

“Veemon I’m—” She starts, but I shake my head again, “No, no.” I smile back at her, “I know you’re sorry. This…” I gesture vaguely at the rest of the group, at the room, at the digidestined, at everything, “…whole _thing_ is proof enough for me, that you’re trying to make amends.” My smile grows just a tad wider, “As far as I’m concerned, you didn’t need to do this, but I’m glad you did.”

“And…” I stop for a moment, and then, in one swift motion, I hug her with both arms, strongly, lifting her slightly off the ground. Gatomon’s tail swishes heavily behind her, and both of her paws lift, her eyes grow wider, in both surprise and slight panic, but I hug her tightly, smile still on my face. I hear someone from the group gasp in surprise, but I can’t see who.

Her face starts slackening a bit, her paws lower and her tail stops moving, she’s just surprised now, waiting for the next thing I’ll do or say, and with a smile, I continue, “…I’m just glad that you’re still the old Gatomon I knew.”

Gatomon smiles a bit in response, I can see her eyes getting foggy, a small tear streams down her face, her paws lower completely, her ears droop, but her smile only grows wider – “Thank you…” she says, in a small voice. “Thank you…” she repeats.

I let her go, placing her back on the floor, and she starts wiping away her own tears. I shake my head, “Just looking out for a friend.” I reply, and she smiles back, full of life and happiness in a way I hadn’t seen her in years. Just like the old Gatomon.

Just like the old days.

September 8th, 2025  
10:30AM

“Man, we haven’t had a vacation in a while, have we?” Elsword started as he leaned back in his seat, placing both hands behind his head, smiling as he closed his eyes. The redheaded man in his twenties had chosen to use a black tank top shirt for the day, with black jean shorts and the most casual shoes he could find. He was never one for getting dressed much, but with the vacation, he was allowing himself to show even more skin than usual. His long, thing ponytail was still present, and his hair kept falling over one of his eyes, a fact that he didn’t seem to care much. He still insisted on using his choker, hairband, necklace, and bracelets though, he did like his accessories.

“It has been a bit, yeah.” Rena replied, her long blonde hair still as immaculate as always, a fact that baffled most people who saw her, especially when you noticed that the vast majority of it was tied in a black ribbon that otherwise let her hair completely free. Her green eyes full of energy as she agreed, “It comes at a good time too, Gatomon has been running us ragged.” She continues, joining both of her hands together, the green-golden tattoos on her arms clearly visible through her sleeveless black shirt with a white flower motif. Like always, she wore large black boots to everything she did, but most of her lower body was uncovered, save for a skirt long enough to give her decency, but short enough to give her legs freedom of movement.

“After that blaze we had to deal with…” Aisha started, flipping a page in her book, some novel in a language none of the others could understand – save, perhaps, Eve – “I think we deserve it.” She continued, pushing her long-ish purple hair out of her face, letting it fall to her back again. Unlike what she usually wore for combat, Aisha was very modestly dressed for this vacation, her long sleeves in a gray sweater hiding whatever shirt she had under it, and her blue-ish pants long enough to reach her ankles. Unlike the rest of the group, she was barefooted, having removed her shoes while on this flight.

“How long did we spend on that again?” Elsword asked, “Five, six hours?”

“Eight.” Aisha continued, without taking her eyes off her book, “At least we managed to save some of the forest.” Rena continued, sighing, “…Wish it had been more.”

“The only way we could’ve saved more was if we had been there right as it started.” Aisha replied, her eyes shifting to the other page, “You ran in as fast as possible to contain the flames, Elsword and I did our best to smother them. There’s only so much you can do when the forest is so dry and the vegetation so weak.” Her tone was without malice or sarcasm, it was simply a statement of facts.

“Maybe if you’d let me help~!” another voice came through, next to Aisha, placing his head on both of his hands and leaning his elbows on her lap, was the little boy with two bat wings, purple short shorts, a jacket that he only half-wore, a black bodysuit and a bowl cut black hair so short you’d have to wonder how it could get into his eyes at all, “Then maybe more of the forest would’ve survived~!” the little bat demon, Angkor, continued, looking up towards Aisha, without her even reacting to his sudden presence.

“Ah yes, I’m going to let the prince of the demon world help in handling a forest fire.” Aisha replied, not bothering to try to hide her disdain, “Piss off, Angkor.”

The bat demon giggled under his breath, closing his yellow eyes a little, his two tiny horns seemed to move slightly on each side of his head before he puffed anyway a tiny cloud of black smoke, quickly vanishing out of sight, his giggle lingering just a bit afterwards.

“I wonder if he’ll ever stop doing that.” Raven asked, the man wrote a thick red coat over his body, his long black pants in stark contrast to it. The coat was closed, so seeing any of his upper body was impossible, although if one looked closely enough towards his pockets, they’d notice the uncharacteristically large bulge that his hands made inside of them. His short white hair moved considerably alongside his head, although he tried his best to hide the black section at the back.

“I doubt it.” Aisha replied, turning another page in her book, she seemed to be almost finished reading it, “He’s always loved being annoying. I’ve grown used to it over the years.” A pause, “It’s probably a lot less unsettling for me than it is for Ara, though.”

Most of the group shifted their attention to her, Ara simply smiled back, “Ah, no, it’s nothing much for me, really.” She replied, she had decided to wear one of her older attires for this occasion, a white, sleeveless dress that ended in an orange skirt, outlined by white frills, and two long, orange leggings reaching all the way up to her thighs, “Silver and I have always gotten along quite well, so it’s never been much of a problem.”

A laugh that only she could hear came from her lap, the white fox spirit quietly curled on it, its nine tails serving as a comfortable pillow for its head, “I’d hope so.” Silver answered her, his red eyes looking on her with a small grin to his mouth, “Otherwise, I’d be very disappointed that you’ve kept a secret from me for so long.”

“I literally can’t keep secrets from you, Silver.” Ara replied, the fox spirit chuckled, but she only had an awkward sigh to give in response. One didn’t know how good the privacy of your own thoughts was until you completely lost it. “If there were issues, you would have known without me having to tell you.”

“I know.” He replied, “But it does mean that we can work together better in the end.” His grin turned to a gentler smile, “Both in the battlefield and outside.”

“Hmmm, yeah.” Ara smiled, petting the fox’s back as she did, “Still, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to get over the fact you can literally reply to my thoughts.” She snorted, “It’s just such a… weird concept. Sometimes you reply before I’ve even properly realized I’m having those thoughts.”

Silver pouted, “I’ve been trying to stop that.” He replied, “But sometimes I can’t help myself. Is it too big of a bother?”

Ara shook her head, “You’re fine, Silver.” Silver could obviously tell she wasn’t fully honest in that statement, but what else could she do? “You could try being fully honest with me, instead.” He replied, and Ara sighed, she didn’t like being rude to others. “Honesty is not being _rude_.” And that’s where they would have to agree to disagree. “ _Ugh._ ”

She looked towards the side, to the window, seeing the clouds moving past them incredibly quickly, she spared just a moment to think at the sheer speed that they must’ve been moving. How Eve had managed to secure and modify a private jet for them, she would likely never know, “Eve does keep all of us in the dark a lot.” Silver remarked, but Ara shook her head, “I don’t mind it, most of this isn’t stuff that pertains to us.” She smiled as she saw the sun outside, it was a fine day for a trip. “She should still be more forthcoming with information, it isn’t a good look to be cryptic to her allies, let alone her friends.”

“I’m surprised you haven’t gotten used to this by now.” Ara replied, still looking outside, her hand reaching to scratch Silver below the chin, the silver fox acquiescing without hesitation, “I have, I’m simply saying it shouldn’t be like this.” His tone didn’t change, even if she knew he liked the gesture, “Although I suppose I shouldn’t be complaining, her methods do get results.”

“Yeah, they do.” She exhaled a little strongly, bitterly, “And, I suppose I should remind you; I still fully expect you to keep up the usual rites during this vacation.” Silver continued, and she sighed, “Silver, I have kept up my rites even during a siege.” She replied, “I’m not about to stop now.” Being a priestess was a lot of work, and Silver was a demanding spirit – “I simply demand proper respect be paid to someone like me.” – but she was never bitter about it, even if the rites could be a bit bothersome at times, she enjoyed the smell of the incense and how it helped her keep her thoughts clean.

She turned her gaze towards the others, still smiling, she was glad they couldn’t hear her conversations with Silver, although she always wondered if they could see the movement of her hands as she petted him. Silver shrugged in response, not knowing the answer, and not caring enough to find out.

“I am surprised that you decided to do this, Eve.” Ara mentioned, “And how quickly you set it up, didn’t you do it for the entire army, not just for us?” she asked, the queen, who for this journey wore her queenly attire, the pinkish-white dress so immaculate you couldn’t tell where the top half ended and the bottom half started. Both the silver tiara upon her head and the blue gem upon her chest polished to a shine, her golden bracelets and accents giving her a splash of color without removing the royalty from it, the only thing missing was her long coat.

“I did, yes.” She replied, “Gatomon requested this outing for the members of Alpha, and I couldn’t very much leave my own group outside of this vacation, could I?” she smiled, joining both of her gloved hands together, “It would be an insult if I did.”

“You say that as if this was actually a vacation for us.” The last voice in the group finally chimed in, the blonde, youngest man of the group, Chung, spoke, “Didn’t you say some of us will have to run search-and-destroy missions during this whole thing?” he exhaled in frustration, arms crossed in front of his black armor, the white accents forming what looked to be almost a coat around him, certainly replicating coattails behind him. “Don’t act like this is all fun and games.”

“Well, of course.” Eve continued, “Due to the nature of our work, stopping completely isn’t really an option. I’ll be running you guys through the usual missions from the hotel we will all be staying.” She smiled, “And I will fully admit, half the reason why I even managed to secure us all of this in the first place is because I was already going to Miami on a diplomatic mission.”

“So is that why you’re dressed as a queen?” Aisha asked, still not looking up from her book, turning another page. How she managed to read so quickly and still pay attention to the conversation at hand was a mystery no one in the group had yet solved. “Quite.” Eve replied, “I wanted to take this time to spend with my friends.” She opened her arms slightly, pointing towards the whole group, “But afterwards, once all of you have safely reached the hotel, I will be going somewhere else to handle a few politicians, my usual way.” Her smile turned into a grin, “The attire is very much a part of that.”

Chung sighed again, taking one of his two blue scarves and covering his mouth with it, his hair with its darker highlights falling to the sides of his head, almost looking like droopy dog ears. Ara had always found that cute about him, in sharp contrast to the cannon-wielding gunslinger that he actually was.

“Still though, you did it for the whole army?” Elsword asked Eve, “Don’t they like, have proper jobs and everything? You only pay the Digimon don’t you?” Eve laughed under her breath in response, “Well, I technically pay _them_ for the work that their Digimon do, but yes.” She smiled, “As for your other question… Money talks, Elsword.” And a grin, “And when money doesn’t speak loudly enough, blackmail does.”

“The fact that you’re so forthcoming with this terrifies me, Eve.” Elsword blinked, “You’re a terrifying woman, did I ever tell you that?”

Eve laughed loudly, “I’ll take the compliment.”

Aisha finally looked up from her book, but simultaneously, she closed it, her finger sliding out of the last page as she leaned down towards the small bag she had placed on her feet, placing the book inside and rummaging through it, “How come you can pay Alpha and their bosses off anyway?” She asked, opening the bag a little wider, “It’s not like we actually _make_ money.”

Eve smiled wider, a devilish grin coming across her face, “Digital currency is a weird thing, Aisha.” She started, “All it takes is getting into the right systems and changing a few values and suddenly, you have a lot more money than you started with.” She joined her hands again, a small clap as she did so, “You’d be surprised at how easy it is to crack _top of the line_ security.”

“I see.” Aisha replied, pulling a book with a red cover out of the bag, Ara frowned at the title – “The Book of Crimson Murders” – even Silver lifted his ears in response, “…Well that’s a bit much isn’t it?” he said, in a small voice.

“So what you’re saying is that you’re cheating.” Rena said, “Not just are you giving them effectively fake money, you’re doing it by using tech at a level no one in this world could ever dream of.” Despite her words, she smiled, “I don’t know if I should chastise or praise you, honestly.”

“Is it fake money if it’s indistinguishable from the normal thing?” Eve replied, tilting her head just slightly, still grinning, “Don’t blame the person gaming the bad system, blame the system for being broken at its core.”

Elsword sighed in exasperation, laughing under his breath, while Rena only shook her head slightly. Raven looked out of the situation with a small smile while Chung receded deeper into his scarves. Aisha continued reading her new book, not reacting to Eve’s statement. Ara frowned down towards Silver, who looked back at her quizzically.

“I know that Eve has done a lot of good overall…” Ara started, “…but when she says stuff like that, it seriously makes me wonder whether or not she’s a good person.”

“She gets things done, Ara, no matter what.” Silver replied, “Ideals are good, but not when they get in the way of actually _doing_ good.” He blinked twice, “I believe we’ve spoken about this before, none of us are innocent, not even you.” His gaze grew just a little sterner, “Innocence is a privilege given to children, when it comes to the real world, getting things done is more important than lofty ideals.”

Ara sighed, that philosophy never sat right with her in the past, it wasn’t about to start now.

September 8th, 2025  
3:30AM, Eastern Standard Time

_“Destination reached, initiating landing.”_

Eve clapped her hands together, “Ah, looks like we’re here.” She smiled, she was happy that the autopilot she had set up was working as intended, this little side project certainly ended up paying off. A small part of her wondered what should her next project be? She wasn’t going to be using the jet often, so improvements to it seemed unnecessary. Still, maybe she could work with some other vehicle? Human vehicles had proven to be so _fun_ to tinker with and improve.

She looked around at the rest of her group, Ara gently sat with both of her hands on her lap, quietly looking outside as the descent began. Rena and Raven were engaged in some conversation that the voice from the intercom had just interrupted, Aisha quietly lowered her book – the third she had brought on this journey – and placed it back in her bag, closing it and reaching for her shoes.

Rena reached next to her, poking Elsword in the face to wake him up, drool dripping from the side of his face. He woke up a bit startled, and with a large yawn, started to stretch, both eyes still closed. Chung, as always, remained quiet, one of his Phantom Shooters – the black-and-white-clad, two barreled pistols he carried with him – in hand as he quietly cleaned it with a cloth, gazing on it against the late afternoon light, the two black chambers glinting slightly against the sun.

The descent was quiet and uneventful, it was smoother than Eve expected too, even as they reached the ground as started to really slow down. Eve got up from her seat and reached for the door, opening it and letting the hot air from outside into their aircraft.

She was the first to set foot upon their landing zone, the side of the runway used for common commercial flights. There was still a good amount of work to do, but for now, she allowed herself to close her eyes and enjoy the breeze as it quietly moved her hair. Behind her, the chatter began again as they left the aircraft, although she did not bother to follow it – her friend’s voices were happy, even Aisha’s seemed more upbeat than normal.

“Excuse me.” A new voice came from her side, she looked towards it, seeing only a man with brown hair approaching her, wearing sunglasses even despite the low light of the evening, illuminated only by the lights of the runway. His black suit and plain black pants would seem out of place in the middle of an airport, but it was more than enough to hide his features – his dark skin certainly helping matters.

“I believe you are the guests of honor?” He asked, reaching out with a tiny piece of paper to give to Eve, she took it in hands, unfolding it, to see the symbol of the uppercase Omega on it. She smiled, “Yes, we are.” She replied to him, the piece of paper burning to nothingness between her fingers.

“Your bus is waiting for you.” He continued, his tone neutral, his voice a practiced pitch, natural enough to anyone not as perceptive as hers. She looked around briefly, seeing another flight approaching, far enough away from them, the jet was inconspicuous enough that nobody would notice it if they weren’t looking for it, but not so inconspicuous as to be invisible to those that were. This conversation, too, was only mildly inconspicuous, just from her brief look, she could tell the three different people who were keeping an eye on them.

She turned back to him, smiling, “Status report?” she asked, and the man, in the same practiced tone and pitch, replied, “There are currently six spies looking for your group.” He started, “Three are here, and I expect that they have already relayed of your arrival.” He continued, “The other three are among the crowds from here until the entrance. They know you are here, and they know in what vehicle you’ll be.”

She smiled, “Good.” Let them think that she plays the same game they do, cloak and dagger so basic she could do it in her sleep. It was good that she had competent agents too, it made things so much smoother.

She looked behind her as the jet’s door closed and it started to take off on its own again, she held her hair against the wind it left behind, smiling. Chung had holstered his gun and was quietly looking around, looking for any potential dangers that might come to them. Ara stood to the side, head raised, quietly smiling, probably talking to Silver. She wondered briefly if Silver, too, enjoyed this moment as she did.

The other four talked among themselves excitedly, Elsword wondering when they’ll actually go swimming, whereas Aisha comments that he’s only going to go sightseeing, Elsword takes the comment in stride, before Rena comes in to stop Elsword from making a comment that might seriously upset Aisha, who simply shrugs in response. Raven pushes a pouting Elsword with his shoulder, gently, making a comment that takes a laugh out of the redhead, before Elsword to break Ara from her reverie, inviting her to the conversation.

She missed those moments. Those moments of calm and excitement, these moments when they weren’t just soldiers on the battlefield, or voices in each other’s earpieces, but friends, family. This vacation would probably end up being a better idea than she originally thought, and she smiled.

“Hey, you guys?” she asked, her voice raised just slightly, the others dropped their conversation, even Chung turning towards her. “The bus is waiting for us, let’s go.”

September 9th, 2025  
2:59PM, Eastern Standard Time

The whole group had gathered about one and a half hours before the scheduled time for the flight, conversation had been lively and upbeat, many of the people I hadn’t seen in a long time had shown up, I took the time to catch up with Hawkmon and Armadillomon, and then with everyone else – Renamon was as quiet as always, but both Guilmon and Terriermon assured me, she was in a good mood.

But the mood changed when it was actually time for us to board our flight, most of us tried to go the plushie route with our partners – that was my case – some of us hid in our bags, even Renamon acquiesced to the latter, and everyone was awkward while bringing us to the actual flight, everyone expected some kind of trouble.

It came much to everyone’s surprise, then, that there was none. While many people across the airport gave us glances, many people started whispering, some even decided to take their distance away from us, the staff was… surprisingly easy to work with – our bags were not checked, no one was given any grief, and we were basically just ushered in on the flight. Both Davis and Jun commented on how weird this was. I remember looking at Gatomon, and seeing that even she was surprised.

I was even surprised when I discovered that this was… a private flight? Only the destined and their Digimon were allowed in, and did so quickly, as we picked whichever seats were available and handy. Jun went to sit away from myself and Davis, Takato and Guilmon took the seats next to ours, it was a few pleasant hours of conversation.

We watched a few movies before we fell asleep, and the flight ended up being very exhausting indeed – it was _sixteen hours!_ – but when we touched down, both Davis and Takato got very nervous – the US was notorious about the strictness of its airport security.

And much like before, we were not given any grief as we took out our bags and went past security without any of us being harassed or otherwise stopped. It… felt surprisingly easy. I’ve watched movies about America before, and even if they’re exaggerations, this felt… weird. Davis agreed. Jun did as well. And much like before, Gatomon seemed baffled at how easy everything went.

We still got a lot of weird looks from strangers though.

But now, after Davis gets off the bus and I get to look up at the building we will be staying, it seems to be… nameless? But good _god_ is this thing large. It’s not super tall, and I can only see five sets of windows but… gods, if you told me this thing was larger than our apartment complex I would hesitate in calling you a liar.

“This is…” Jun starts, walking next to Davis, to our side, “…a bit much.” She continues, looking the grey-ish beige building up and down, the double glass door in front of us the only really discernable feature immediately visible, and the glass is reflective, so I can’t see inside.

“Is this really where we’ll be staying?” Davis vocalizes, not towards anyone in particular, “Yeah.” Another voice comes. Looking towards it, I can see Gatomon walking to the doors and opening them, “Come in everyone, we got a lot to do in getting set up.”

When she opens the doors is when I first see it, the massive lounge in the thick red carpet with the candelabrum that hangs high above, the walls are painted a slightly darkened white, and I can see several couches spread out around the place, with each set of windows having a thick curtain drawn, probably able to block out the light of the sun perfectly with how thick they look to be. The couches seem to form in three distinct clumps for conversation, with a wooden table in the center of each of them, to the left, I can see a bar with a few seats, a female barkeeper behind the counter, with a proper and formal attire, smiling towards the new arrivals. I think I can see some faint music coming from somewhere too.

On the opposite side of the lounge, I can see this big reception desk, a door behind it, and a few meters off to its right, the stairs leading upwards, alongside the two elevators. The lights seem to be all hooded and placed alongside the walls, with very few on the ceiling – “Wow.” I let out, and I can feel Davis’s grip tighten slightly, I think he’s just as overwhelmed as I am.

“Hey, Davis.” Jun says, and as I turn my head to her, she placed her hand on his shoulder, “Why don’t you let Veemon get comfortable while we go get our keys?” She points to the reception, some of the destined already approaching it while I was lost in my reverie.

Davis blinks a few times, and then nods slowly, before placing me on the ground and picking his digivice again, “Won’t be long.” He says, although his tone of voice seems to be just as overwhelmed as before, even as the light of the evolution fades and my senses come back to me as I become Veemon again.

I nod my head, and Davis picks up the bags he was carrying and goes with Jun to the reception, I can see some people already leaving the desk, giving them to a new worker that comes by, although this one seems visibly more uncomfortable than the barkeeper or the receptionist, to grab their bags.

As I see Davis and Jun go through the line, I can hear a little poke on my leg, “Hey!” a high-pitched voice comes calls my attention, but when I look to my right and to the ground, I see nothing.

“Boo!”

I jump back with an “Ack!”, the much deeper voice coming from my front left this time, but I recognize it, that long snout, that slightly hunched form, the long tail, the red rings, the black scales, I blink a few times but sure enough, “BlackGuilmon?” I ask.

He smiles a bit, “You gotta be a bit more aware than that, rookie. I could have got you in thousands of ways right then.” He laughs.

“Well I wasn’t expecting someone to do that out of nowhere!” I pout, crossing my arms, but I smile a little more, “I didn’t think I’d see you again though, I certainly didn’t see you in that flight.”

“Well, that’s ‘cause I wasn’t in it.” He replies, “Not like I needed to anyway, I don’t have baggage or anything to bring with.”

“Did Omega come here too?” I ask, and he simply points to one of the farther couch clusters, there are people there – some of them I can’t see clearly, their backs are turned and the couches are blocking my view – but I can see a redheaded man with short shorts and a tank top, relaxing while he talks to the rest of the group. I can see a blonde woman with long hair, her clothing just as casual as the guy’s, laughing along something that was said. In a separate armchair, I can see a woman with a long black hair and orange clothing, quietly letting her arms atop her lap. I can see the hair of other people too – one black that looks short, one purple and another blonde – but…

“Where’s Eve?” I ask, her white clothing and hair distinctly missing, even from my point of view.

“Ah.” BlackGuilmon replies, “She went off to do some work or another. I think she’ll be back by the evening.” He stops for just a moment, “…Or at least, that’s what I caught, I didn’t exactly get invited to the conversation.” He exhales with a chuckle.

I look back to him, eyebrow raised, “I thought you were part of their team though?” I ask, and he shakes his head in response, “We are all a part of Team Omega, but that doesn’t mean I’m a part of their… _group._ ” He starts, “They… were a group before I entered the picture, and admittedly, I don’t do well in large crowds.” He scoffs slightly. “They even came here through their private jet while I came alone.”

“You seem to be friendly though, I don’t see why you wouldn’t.” I smile, “Do you just not like larger groups?”

For a moment, he seems surprised by my comment, although I can’t exactly say why. He blinks a few times, his mouth opens for a moment, but then closes again. If his mannerisms are anything like Guilmon’s, then I can imagine his tongue moving around in his mouth as he tries to formulate his next response.

When he finally does speak, it is with a smile, “…Yeah, I don’t few very comfortable in larger groups.” He starts, “But I’m flattered that you think I’m friendly. I… don’t exactly get compliments very often.” His smile grows wider. I can guess why that would be the case.

“Well, you don’t need to worry about it.” I reply, “You’re not exactly the first Black Digimon I see, and I don’t think you guys are as different from us as some others may think.” I shrug with a smile, “I think you’re friendly, and I’d like to actually be your friend, if you’re okay with that.”

He laughs a bit, “That’d be nice, wouldn’t it?” he asks, “I don’t think it will happen, for a few… complicated reasons.” His eyebrows raise a bit when he says the word “complicated”, but he’s still smiling all the same, “But it’s good to know the sentiment anyway.”

“Oh.” He starts as he looks to the side, when I follow his gaze, I can see Davis approaching, “Looks like you’re about to leave, I should get back to what I was doing anyway.” He continues, “Just came up to make sure you were doing alright after what happened at the forest.”

I nod, “I’m fine, Guilmon is too.”

BlackGuilmon nods, “Give him my regards then.” He replies, before walking towards the stairs. Raising a paw in farewell as I do the same to him. Davis walks next to me as he looks towards BlackGuilmon, the black dragon walking up the stairs. “Made a new friend?”

I smile back, “Of sorts.” I answer, “So, how’s the situation?” I ask, “And where’s Jun?”

“Jun’s already gone up, she got a room for her own, said she wanted to be able to live without both of us for a while.” He smiles, “Which is good, ‘cause that gives you and I some privacy.” And then he fishes around in his pocket, picking up a small set of keys, “Our room is on the third floor, end of the hall, number 310, our bags are already being brought there.”

I smile, “Should we go then? I want to see our room!” I give a little excited jump, and he laughs, then looks towards the elevators, with their small line forming in front of them, and then towards the stairs, completely clear and free. He lets out a small humming noise before turning back to me, a grin plastered on his face, before he raises both eyebrows. “Race you there.” And then he bolts, sprinting towards the stairs at full speed.

Oh it is _on_.

I run in the same direction he went, running past several of the other destined, he weaves and bobs between them, but does lose some of his lead due to not wanting to hurt them. I don’t have as much of a problem, and by the time we get to the stairs, we’re almost dead even.

He probably thought that his bigger legs would give him an advantage in climbing the stairs, and sure enough, he can take the steps three at a time even when going at top speed. What he doesn’t seem to realize is that I’m a _very_ good jumper. While he takes them three at a time, I’m taking them five at a time, kicking off the wall to correct my course whenever it is necessary, “Hey, no fair!!” he cries out as I pass him by.

Once we get to the first floor proper, I turn around and blow him a raspberry, before going through the second set of stairs, right next to the first. The process is much the same, with Davis trying to take as many of the steps at a time while going at full speed, and me simply leaping as fast as I can to stay ahead of him. I look to the side for just one moment, bummer that these handrails are so close to the wall, I could run on them to get an even bigger lead otherwise.

Getting to the third floor ends up being surprisingly easy, although I’m pretty sure I ended up climbing over 100 steps on the way up. I run to the opposite side of the hallway immediately, and sure enough, right at the end is the room labeled “310”. Once I approach the room itself, I stop and turn around, crossing my arms with a smug smile. I do not see Davis coming up immediately. I chuckle to myself.

The hallway, now that I take a moment to examine, seems to have a carpet rolled out through its center, with small armchairs and tables and the occasional painting off to the sides. There are flowers at each table, and… are those tables made of marble? The color of the walls themselves seems to be a bit lighter than those at the lounge, but much like before, the lights are all mostly on the walls, not the ceiling.

I hear the panting coming, and Davis appears out of the stairs to the second floor a moment later, he trots up to me, not nearly as fast as before, with a small frown coupled with a smile, “I’m out of practice.” He says. I laugh, “Just accept that you lost.” I show him my tongue.

Davis seems like he’s going to argue, but two “ding!” sounds come up in quick succession, outside of our field of view, next to the stairs, I can hear the elevator doors opening, and some of the destined – I can see Kari, Takeru and Izzy, alongside their Digimon – coming towards the hall. In front of them, the worker – were those called bellboys? – pushing along the cart full of people’s bags.

Davis shakes his head, and then reaches for his pocket again, picking up the keys and unlocking the door right behind me. The first thing I notice as we walk in, is the light of the afternoon sun, and the blue open sky. “Wow.” Davis lets out.

The room starts with a very short hallways, what looks to be a wooden – or at least wood-colored – wall to our right, but the ceiling is completely white. A few steps in and we get to see the _actual_ room, a carpet covering everything on the floor – they sure as hell like their carpets don’t they? – and these two arm chairs right next to a glass door that walks out to a balcony overlooking the beach. To our immediate left is this enormously sized bed, with white sheets and holy shit does it look _comfy!_

I immediately jump into the bed, feeling my sheets get completely undone as I do so, I feel myself sink into the bed, comfortably, every muscle of mine instinctively relaxing as I do so, “Gods… It’s so soft…” It is _so good!_

I can hear Davis laughing a bit behind me, but he doesn’t say anything. I raise my head, to the left of the bed seems to be… is that a walk-in closet? Huh. I guess this hotel is made for more extended stays than ours.

Picking myself up and sitting down on the bed properly, I continue to look around, there’s a flat screen TV in front of the bed, against a wall, suspended at just the right height to be easily visible while laying down. The balcony entrance I noticed earlier is just to its right, and to its left, another window overlooking the ocean, this time right above a wooden desk with a lamp on it. Both the window and the balcony doors have these thick red curtains drawn, but they look to be thick enough that, if closed, they’d completely block out the sun.

Looking just to the left side of the bed, I can also see a minifridge, next to it a nightstand with what seems to be a landline on it, and then I look directly to my right, to the right of the entrance, I can only see a closed door, but I imagine that’s the bathroom.

“You wanna take a bath or something?” Davis says, looking at me, “I think after that running and having you against me for the last sixteen hours, I must stink of sweat.” I turn towards him and nod, “Yeah, a bath would be nice, I must stink as well.” I grin, “Mostly because of the latter than the former, though.”

He shows me his tongue in annoyance, then goes towards the bathroom, with me jumping out of the softest bed in the world to follow him. As he opens the door, my eyes bulge out and – “Echo!” I let out, to Davis’s surprise, he laughs, but unfortunately for me, there is no echo in this massive place.

Still, with a marble sink on the left side of the door, the toilet next to it, it seems like a normal bathroom without much decoration to it, the lights keep the pattern that they did previously by being attached to the wall, a big mirror with lights on either side above the sink. What really catches my surprise though, is when I look to the side opposite the door, I can see a large showerhead before a glass divider, big enough for two people, easily. And separate from it…

“A goddamn jacuzzi.” Davis lets out, in laughter, “Man, I knew this place was _extra_ but…” he shakes his head, “I guess I didn’t expect _how_ extra.” He continues, approaching the large thing, easily capable of holding four or five people in it, “Oh, good, they left some stuff here that we can use.” He turns to me, “Close the door, please?”

I nod, and as I reach up to the door – again, damn doorknob heights – I can hear the jacuzzi filling up with water behind me. It takes me a bit to close the door properly and lock it, but as I do and look back, I can see that Davis has already taken off most of his clothes. His back is to me, and he tosses his laundry aside as he undresses. I don’t remember how long it has been since he did sports, but I expected his body to be… less defined than this. I don’t think I ever noticed how good his back muscles are, or just how thick his biceps are. I remember them being thicker, a few… years? ago, but they’re definitely too thick for someone that hasn’t seen much along the years. Does he work out while I’m away?

“Vee?” he asks, turning to me, “It’s ready.” He continues, I blink a few times, feeling my cheeks getting slightly hot, “Oh, right.” I say, and I walk up to him, smiling. I try to look anywhere else while I do, but I can’t help but take a peek. It is just as I remember, and somehow that only makes me more excited.

He picks me up and places me inside of the jacuzzi, deep enough that if this thing was actually filled all the way, I’d need to stand up to not get my head below the water. He enters right after me, and I look away again, but it doesn’t take long for him to ask, “Vee?” he starts, “What’s wrong?”

“Ah.” I let out, giggling, “Nothing I just…” Please don’t say you were trying not to look at his dick. “…I didn’t realize how… defined your body is.” Okay that’s better.

“Oh.” He smiles, and I can see his cheeks get a little redder as a result, “So… you were checking me out?” he asks, and I look towards him again, “…Yeah, a little.” I reply, I don’t know if it’s the hot water or this entire situation, but my body is feeling incredibly hot right now. “You’re a very handsome guy.” I continue, smiling again.

“Well uh…” He blinks a few times, and then reaches out to me, “…You can do more than just stare, you know.” He continues, pulling me and making me sit on his lap, my height comfortably reaching up to his chest and neck. As I get myself into a comfortable position, I look towards him and smile, his cheeks are just as red as mine probably are, especially once I can feel his dick touching my body, already semi-erect.

“Well, if you’re giving me permission…” I let out, my hand reaching to touch his shoulders, squeezing them lightly and feeling the strong muscle underneath, his skin is smooth, especially with it being wet, and as I roll down my hands towards his arms, I can feel him flex them just a bit, the muscle tensing under my grip. I giggle a little, “Do you work out?” I ask, “While I’m away, I mean.” I lick my lips a little as my hands go through his arms.

“A bit, yeah.” He replies, “Just to keep myself healthy.” His tone is that of mock-humbleness, but as my hands move from his arms to his chest and I inhale strongly, letting my claws dig into his skin just a tiny bit, I smile, “Well, I’m glad you do then.” I can feel his dick harden as I continue to touch him, five minutes ago, we were laughing and having a dumb race, and now here we are, in the middle of a jacuzzi as I feel his entire body up. I don’t know exactly how we got here, but I do know one thing.

I want this. And Davis does too.

Heart pounding in my chest, I reach up to grab Davis’s neck and pull on it slightly, he offers no resistance as I raise my head and place a soft kiss upon his neck, my other arm gently lowering from his chest to his abdomen. I nuzzle his neck slightly, using my thumb to quietly massage the top of his belly as my hand drops lower and lower.

I can feel him gulp down, both of his arms reach behind me to hug me, to pull me closer. I can feel his hot breath hitting my back, the contrast of it against the cold air of the rest of the bathroom urging me to place another kiss on his neck, earning me a sigh from him. I smile as I feel my thumb go past his bellybutton, and with one long lick, I can hear him let out the softest of moans.

And then—

“Excuse me!”

I pull back immediately, and Davis lets me go as we both look towards the closed bathroom door, the knocking on it soft, but very audible. “Your baggage is here, if you need anything, you can call for room service using the phone next to the bed.” The bellboy continues, and then I can hear the faintest sound of the door to the bedroom itself shutting.

I blink a few times, the sound of mine and Davis’s breathing, and the soft sounds of the jacuzzi being the only thing in this bathroom. I don’t know how long exactly we both stare wordlessly at the door. But eventually, Davis lets out a sigh, “Welp, there goes the whole mood!” he says, and chuckles a little.

I breathe in heavily, and sigh, thanks bellboy. Real help you were. “Yeah, I guess that’s it.” I pout, looking towards Davis, “We were just getting to the best part, too.” Both of my hands go down, in between my own legs, feeling my own dick that had just started to come out of its hidden pouch.

Davis laughs a bit louder, and then his hand runs through my head a little. He places a kiss on my lips, “It’s fine.” He says, “We’ll have other opportunities.” And after a small pause, he laughs again, “…And it’s probably not a good idea to do this in a bathtub as our first time.”

I raise and eyebrow, quizzically, I don’t really know how that makes any difference, but before I can vocalize my question, he shakes his head, “Let’s take our bath, we’ll have another time for this.” He kisses me again, a little deeper, a littler longer this time.

I smile back, “Yeah.” Yeah. We will.


	8. Relationships

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the chapter where it gets very NSFW, and boy did this take a long while to write to my satisfaction. I hope you enjoy it, and don't worry, it's pretty obvious when things start to get NSFW.

September 10th, 2025  
12:13PM, Eastern Standard Time

The rest of the day yesterday was uneventful, I stayed around the hotel while Davis went out with some of the destined to check out the city, when he came back in the evening, he seemed exhausted, but excited about something.

I stayed in the hotel, predictably the Digimon are not really supposed to leave outside of the scheduled events. I paced around, found Guilmon and did some more roughhousing with him, then I went to catch up with some of the others. Tentomon told me how he had started to actually work as Izzy’s assistant, Gomamon showed me a few of the things he learned studying under Joe, Agumon and Gabumon were just pleasant company. I didn’t see Gatomon again, or Patamon for that matter, but I did manage to catch up to Wormmon briefly – although he was very tired, so we didn’t chat very long.

I didn’t end up catching Hawkmon or Armadillomon like I wanted before nighttime came. Davis, when he went to our room and grabbed his pajamas, laid down on the bed and turned on some movie I didn’t pay attention to. He fell asleep very quickly, and I took the opportunity to fall asleep with him.

We both woke up rather early today, and got an announcement from Gatomon – well, more like a message really – that we’d all be going to the beach for the morning and some of the afternoon. Unfortunately, most of us were still recovering from the jet lag, so it got a little delayed.

But now I smile, hearing the movement of the waves and the comfortable heat upon my scales. A large parasol giving us a strong, comfortable shade, even as the sun is quite literally directly overhead. Davis and I lay down comfortably on our respective chairs, with Jun just a bit away from us, sitting down on her own chair, away from the shade.

“Y’know, I didn’t think I’d miss this so much.” Davis starts, laughing, his dark purple shorts the only thing on him as far as I know, “But man, the beach is great.”

My ears twitch a little as I hear a higher-pitched laughter coming from somewhere on my right, Patamon, I think? “Yeah, it is.” I reply, the sound of the waves and the deliciously humid wind accompanying the noise and the excitement of the group. If I scan the area, I can see Renamon and Ruki quietly bathing in the sun, or Gomamon playing pranks on fellow swimmers, I can see Takato and Guilmon together as the man tries to teach the dragon to swim, or Joe and Mimi taking a walk along the coast, together. I can see Matt and Sora holding a conversation while Gabumon and Biyomon have taken to building a sandcastle together, with the occasional help from Armadillomon. I see Wormmon clinging to Terriermon’s back and the latter uses his ears to gently glide down after being thrown to the air by Ken and Lee, the four enjoying themselves in this little game.

“Everyone is certainly enjoying themselves.” I mention, a smile on my face, “I’m still impressed we managed to get this entire section of the beach just to us.” I have to stop myself from looking back, I’m sure if I did, I’d catch at least a few glimpses from the passersby on the sidewalk, “It is a little surreal, yeah.” Davis replies, “Gatomon certainly spared no expense.” His laugh was a little dry.

“Excuse me.”

The voice caught me by surprise, I lift my sunglasses and look to my right, seeing the white dress that turned black at the back, the short black hair with the white hairband, the yellow eyes and the black boots. “Oh.” I let out, “You’re uh… that woman, right? The one that works for Eve?”

“I am Ophelia, maid of my Mistress Eve.” She continues, carrying a small tray on her hand, “My mistress has requested me to see if any of the members of Alpha Team require beverages.” Her eyes never blink as she speaks, and I will never, _ever_ get used to that metallic, slightly distorted voice of hers.

“Uhh…” Davis starts, “…Coke?” he continues after a brief moment, both eyebrows raised in either amusement or confusion. She then turns to me again, wordlessly, I blink a few times before I answer, “…Same?”

She nods her head briefly, and I see her body vanish in small particles of light, I blink, and she’s back there again, two glasses of coke on the tray. She picks one up, passing it to me, and then passes the other to Davis. Once he picks it, she bows deeply, “Have a wonderful day.” She replies, and again, she vanishes in those particles of light.

I blink a few times, staring at the cold beverage in my hands. When I turn to Davis, he seems both concerned and confused at the glass in his hand, “…I almost don’t want to drink this. It feels wrong somehow.”

“If it makes you feel any better, Eve wouldn’t poison us.” Is the best reply I can think of. Ophelia never gave me good vibes, I’m _pretty_ sure she’s a robot like the ones you see on TV, and being able to teleport was _not_ something I knew she could do. “…It still feels mildly unsettling.” Davis continues, but then starts to drink his own beverage.

“Hey!” I can hear coming from behind me, as I look back, I see Tai approaching with a ball under his arm, Davis looks back as well, smiling, “Yo, Tai, what’s up?” he asks, lifting his sunglasses.

“I’m trying to look for people for some volleyball.” Tai replies, “You two up for it?” I raise my eyebrow, but Davis adjusts himself in his seat, “Who else is coming?”

“Right now, just me and two guys from Omega.” I turn back towards Tai, both eyebrows raised now, “You asked Omega?” I let out, almost without thinking, and Tai nods his head, “Yeah—” he points with his other arm to a small group on the side, a little ways from the rest of us. I can see Eve relaxing on a beach chair while some other girl with purple hair sunbathes next to her. I can see a blonde guy with blue shorts laying down on a towel with sunglasses on, and on her opposite side, I can see… is that guy wearing a trench coat? To the beach?

Next to them I can see another guy, doing stretches and small exercises in place. His red hair is a bit long, but drawn into a single, thin ponytail at the back, his black speedo the only thing to cover his body, outside of what I think is a black headband. It takes me a moment, but I do find BlackGuilmon, curled in on himself on the sand, against the sun, a bit ahead of them. Is he napping? Directly on the sand?

“—I asked them first, two of them said yes.” Tai continues, “They said some of their other girls might be interested in it too, but one of them went swimming and the other one is taking a walk.” He drops his hand, and smiles “So it’s just us for now, whaddya two say?” he asks.

“I’m into it.” Davis replies, getting up from his seat, “You coming, Vee?” he asks. I turn to him for a second, but honestly…

“Nah.” I reply, “I actually kind of wanted to take a swim.” I continue, a small smile on the side of my face, “You two go on ahead, we can meet up here later, Davis.” I raise my glass, drinking the coke and letting out a satisfied sigh as the cold runs through my body, man but it _is_ nice today.

“Well, that’s fine.” Davis says, “Come on, let’s go grab a few more.” Davis continues, before draining his cup quickly and leaving it on his chair. The two men walk away, further to my right, going to look for other members on the game.

I drink the rest of my glass absentmindedly, before getting up from my seat, leaving the glass on it. I stretch my body, again feeling the satisfying cracks and pops as I do, the sand is hot under my feet, so I should probably keep moving before it gets too uncomfortable. I spare a glance to Jun, still sunbathing with her sunglasses on. She turns her head to me for a moment, I give her a small wave, she nods, and I start walking towards the water.

We didn’t set up far from the water at all, and as I reach the spots where the sand is more humid, my feet start feeling the relief of the gentle cold under them. I look around quickly to see who else is swimming today, Takato and Guilmon are sticking to the shallows while Guilmon tries his best to learn to swim, further down I can see Izzy swimming alongside Palmon and Agumon, with Gomamon running laps around them as he has his fun. Hawkmon floats gently on his back, while I can see Terriermon running towards the water, Lee behind him, Wormmon nowhere to be found.

And then, aside from everyone else, I see that same woman with the long blonde hair, wearing a black body suit for her swimming, her whole body is wet, and her hair is disheveled and soaked, but she looks pleased with herself even as she stands up, the top half of her body out of the water, enjoying the breeze.

I enter the water, feeling its cold touch across my scales, in sharp contrast to the sand and the sun, but I still approach her, getting to a point where the water is up to my shoulders, a polite distance away. “Hey!” I voice, and she turns to me, looking just a little surprised, “You’re from Omega, aren’t you?” I ask.

He expression changes into a small smile, “And you’re from Alpha.” She replies, “Wasn’t expecting one of you to approach me.” Her smile continues weakly, looking almost amused at me, “I guess I’m just the friendly sort.” I chuckle a little, and also, I’ll fully admit, curious.

“My name’s Veemon, what’s yours?” I ask. The woman pushes her hair aside from a moment, turning back towards the sea, “I’m Rena.” She replies, “What brings you here? Curiosity, I’m guessing?”

“Caught me.” I reply with a smile on my face, “But also because you looked a little lonely swimming by yourself, thought you could use company.” She chuckles a little to herself, “I was expecting at least one of the others to come swim at _some_ point.” She turns around, and as I follow her gaze, I can see her look towards the other members of Omega, the redhead man still doing his stretches and exercises, “But I got a feeling Elsword isn’t coming, otherwise he’d already be here.”

“That’s the redhead?” I ask, and she nods, “Yeah, he’s the second youngest of the group.” She smiles, “Always got a smile on his face, I wonder what he’s going to do.”

“Oh, one of my friends is organizing a volleyball match.” I turn to her again, “He’s going to be on it, I think.” Rena giggles a little in response, “Yeah that does sound like him.” She continues.

“None of the others want to swim?” I ask her, and she shakes her head, “Eve and Aisha aren’t much for it, as you can clearly see.” She replies, and if Aisha is that other girl next to Eve then uh… yeah, she does look kind of intense. Is she reading a book? At the beach? “Chung – that’s the blondie right there – has a… I think calling it a love-hate relationship with water wouldn’t be wrong.” Her laugh turns bitter, for just a moment.

“Raven… can’t swim.” Her voice is short and a little low, which probably means I shouldn’t ask, “And aside from that, there’s Ara. She’s off walking somewhere, taking a stroll through the coastline.” She snorts, “She complained about hating when her hair gets soaked. I can’t blame her; it probably takes so much effort to dry off properly.”

“Wouldn’t that apply to you too?” I ask, turning to her, and she laughs, “Nah.” She turns back to me, arms crossed, “Not to me.” For a second, I catch a glimpse of something on her outer thighs, they’re tattoos, of golden-green leaves and plants, vanishing almost perfectly in her skin with the sunlight. I blink, and they’re still there, but I could have sworn they weren’t before.

I blink a few times, and after a moment or two, they are quite definitely gone, “Anyway.” She says, turning back to the ocean, “You did say you were curious about us, I gotta admit, I’m a little curious at you guys too.” She continues, “Maybe we could exchange a few stories? Although I don’t think mine would be very believable to you.”

“You’d be surprised.” I continue, “I’ve had my share of crazy adventures myself.” I smile.

* * *

Finding people for the volleyball match ended up being both easier and harder than expected, both Ken and Matt were easy enough to find, but as they went to the rest of the group to find more members, they found that no one else was in the mood for a match. Wormmon came with Ken, although obviously the little guy couldn’t play, he said he’d stick around to cheerlead.

Once they got back to where the match would take place, the net had already been set up, but before Davis could take a moment to meet the two members of Omega, the teams were already drawn up – the redhead, who introduced himself as Elsword, would be playing with Davis and Ken, whereas Chung, the blue-eyed blonde, would be playing with Tai and Matt.

The match itself was a lot more hectic than Davis initially thought. Neither team really set up a strategy, so as one might expect, there was a lot of bumping into each other as they went for the ball. That’s how most of the first few initial points were made for both sides, although it was all in good fun.

Eventually Davis and Ken had the quiet understanding that Davis would take care of the front and Ken would take care of the back. Tai and Matt took a few more rounds to get that sort of situation sorted out – enough to get Davis’ team a few points in the lead. But that’s when things really changed.

Once their positions were established, Elsword proved to be an incredibly flexible player, taking the middle and doing good work as a setter for Davis. Davis loved having him on his team, as he made all of his spikes so easy to do, and he was happy that he could still do a strong spike, even if volleyball was never his preferred sport.

Chung had been surprisingly calm and inactive, letting Tai and Matt handle most things by that point, but when the two of them worked a good strategy, that’s when Chung cracked both of his knuckles and got to work. Matt served, Ken blocked, Elsword set the ball, Davis spiked, Tai blocked…

And Chung immediately spiked the ball with so much force it sent sand flying high in the air.

Davis wasn’t quite sure what impressed him most, the sheer strength of the spike, the fact Chung did that while keeping an entirely neutral expression, or the fact that, despite his own and Ken’s surprised faces, Elsword’s seemed completely unfazed.

Both Davis and Ken learned very quickly to just let Elsword handle every spike that came from Chung. It wasn’t enough the first few times, but Elsword did eventually manage to start blocking the shots consistently, and each point took longer and longer to make. Davis was happy to learn that him and Ken still worked so well together, and there was a smile too seeing how good Tai and Matt still worked together.

The match lasted for a good two hours, with that creepy maid from before occasionally supplying the entire group with water, everyone besides Chung, who, despite all of his effort and his strength, did not seem to sweat at all. The match did end in a loss from Davis’s team, by only two points. Usually he’d be bitter about it, but…

“Sorry for Chung.” Elsword smiled as he grabbed another water bottle from the maid, drying himself off of sweat with a towel also given by her, “He gets a little intense sometimes.” He started drinking the water, and Davis simply smiled back, “That’s only a _little_ intense?”

“Oh believe me, that’s pretty mild for him.” Elsword laughed, “In fact, I’m pretty sure he was having genuine fun. Haven’t seen that from him in a while.”

“He does sound like the kind of guy who’s serious all the time.” Davis replied, opening his own bottle, “Are most people on your team like that?” he asked, drinking the water, while Elsword replied by raising the bottle over his head and pouring the rest of its contents over his own body. As the bottle finally ran out of water, he let out a satisfied sigh, his long, tied hair now soaked as much as his body. “Much better.” He stated.

“And no, not really.” Elsword smiled, drying up his face as he did so, “Rena, Raven and Ara are pretty happy people, generally, Raven slightly less so.” He snorted, “Even Eve sometimes jokes with us, it’s mostly Aisha and Chung that are always like this.”

Davis blinked, “Eve? Really?” he asked, “From what I saw of her, she seemed very… serious.” Elsword let out a little chuckle, “Oh, she is.” He smiled, “But sometimes she isn’t, she can be like that.”

“You’re part of a really weird group.” Davis said with a smile, and Elsword nodded in response, “They did elect _me_ as the leader, did you expect anything else?” he laughed under his breath.

“Wait.” Davis blinked again, “You’re Omega’s leader?” Elsword shook his head in reply, before he finally took the towel from off his shoulders, “Hey, Chung!” he said, and as Davis looked to the side, he saw the blonde man look up, “Catch!” Elsword continued, throwing the towel in a ball in the direction of Chung, who took it with one hand. Chung, with no hesitation, started pressing the soaked towel to his head as he walked off back to the group. Matt and Tai, behind him, seemed to be stuck in conversation for a while.

And as he looked around, he quickly saw Ken grabbing Wormmon from the ground, laughing and seeming to exchange a few words.

Elsword lets out a small “heh” in response to Chung, “I’m not really _Omega’s_ leader.” He stops, “But my group – which covers the majority of Team Omega – did elect me as a leader before…” he stops for a moment, “Well, before all of this started.”

Davis wasn’t sure if he fully understood, but whatever question he had at that moment vanished when he looked at Elsword’s shoulder, he moved his head inquisitively, blinking, but he did see it – that weird, distorted “3” shape that was much bigger at the bottom than at the top engraved in red in his skin. There was writing beneath it, too small to read from this distance, he wondered, for a moment, if he had somehow missed that tattoo before. This was certainly the first time he noticed it.

Elsword turned back towards where his group was, adjusting his black headband as he did so, “Good match though.” Elsword said, “Loss or no, it was fun to play with you and Ken.” He smiled again, “You two work really well together.”

Davis smiled, “Yeah we do.” He exhaled a little strongly, in pride. “We’ve been partners for a while.” He continued, and Elsword turned back to him, and that’s when he saw on the left side of the man’s belly, that same reddened ink, this time in the format of a perfect circle with a dot in the center, branching off both upwards and downwards, also covered in ineligible writing. It wasn’t Japanese, Davis was sure of it, and also not any other language he recognized.

Elsword blinked a few times, but he looked down, to where Davis was looking, “Oh shit.” He let out, and exhaled strongly, “Well, guess there’s no point in covering up now.” He let out a “heh” with a shrug.

Davis raised an eyebrow, “What do you mean?” he asked.

“Oh, well, it’s just…” Elsword stopped for a second, and then Davis saw it, before his very eyes as the red ink vanished, the entire sigil disappearing into nothingness, leaving behind the smooth skin and Elsword’s abs uncovered by the tattoo. “That.” Elsword smiled, “It’s a bit of a thing I can do.”

“Neat trick.” Davis grinned with both eyebrows raised, “Why would you want to hide that though?”

“Oh, mostly because it brings some inconvenient questions.” Elsword responded, “My tattoos aren’t just for fashion, in fact, some of them are a little too gaudy to be considered fashionable.” He laughed a little sarcastically.

“It’s a neat tattoo, the one on your shoulder as well.” Davis replied, and Elsword immediately went to check his right shoulder, “Other shoulder.” He let out, laughing a bit, and Elsword looked to his left shoulder, and sighed with a smile, the other tattoo vanishing just as the first did. “Thanks.” Elsword replied, “Say, we’re gonna be staying for a few more days, you wanna hang out or something?”

Davis raised both eyebrows, “Of course, you seem like a cool guy.” And Elsword laughed a bit, “Good! Maybe I can drag Rena and Ara when we do. I think you’ll like them.”

He smiled a bit wider; Davis certainly hadn’t expected the conversation to take this turn, but maybe he could make actual friends with the people from Omega? That would be interesting. If Rena and Ara were half as friendly as Elsword was, he knew they’d be fast friends. In the back of his mind, he let out a sigh of satisfaction, especially as Ken started to approach, Wormmon in arms. “Yeah, that sounds good.” He replied, and as Elsword waved goodbye and went back to his group, as Ken approached and the two of them went to talk to Tai and Matt, he couldn’t help but think that maybe things would end up being okay, after all.

September 10th, 2025  
1:07PM, Eastern Standard Time

“You do have a lot of stories.” Rena laughs, “It’s kind of a wonder that you’re not running out of them.” She sat down on the shallow water, still a little taller than myself even in this position.

“Well, I’ve been in a lot of adventures.” I smile, “Our group has kind of done a lot, we are kind of a big deal.” I grin, and she chuckles a bit, “You sure do sound like you are.” She continues, letting her hair down a bit more, raising her head and closing her eyes.

“What about you?” I ask, and she turns her head slightly towards me, “You haven’t really told me any of your stories.” She had been very quiet up until now, content to listen and not talk much, although she did ask me the occasional question. She frowns just for a bit, and then shakes her head, “I don’t know how much I _can_ tell you.” She sighs, “Our situation is a bit unique, Eve’s asked me to not… say much about it.”

I pout, “That’s too bad. Do you not have _any_ stories you can tell me?” my tone probably sounds a little more hurt than I really feel, because she looks a little taken aback by it. Still, she closes her eyes, her brow furrowing a little as she seems to try to remember something.

“Well, there is one.” She says, and I smile, “It’s not really an adventure, more like… like a prank I pulled on the team once?” she laughs a little, and I raise an eyebrow, “You don’t really sound like a prankster to me.”

“Oh, no, I’m not.” Rena shakes her head, laughing a bit, “That’s more Elsword’s thing, although even then, I wouldn’t go as far as to call him a prankster.” She giggles, “But there was one time…” she pauses, and then looks to me, “Okay, so, I’m going to tell you something, and you’re going to have to believe me.”

“Yeah?” I ask, my ears twitching slightly in anticipation. She raises her hand and pushes a bit of her long hair aside, and from behind it I can see a very long, horizontal, pointy ear. “I’m an elf.” She says, smiling. I nod in response, “Okay.”

She blinks a few times; she probably wasn’t expecting me to take that at face value. I smile a bit, “I’m a blue, flightless dragon with a giant V on his head that can punch really hard. I don’t think you being an elf is particularly weird between us two.” Not that I find myself _weird_ necessarily, but if she’s using humans as the default, I’m _definitely_ the weirder one here.

She lets out a louder laugh, raising her head as she does so, “Yeah, fair enough!” she says, lowering her head and chuckling as the laughter continues. Eventually, she settles down again, “Well, because I’m an elf, the team had these little… preconceptions about me.” She rolled her eyes, “They thought I was a tree-loving hippie who would never hurt an animal and only ate vegan foods.”

She smiled again, “There was this one day, the housekeeper we hired for where we were staying got injured and we couldn’t really find another one, so we had to divvy up the chores.” A small pause, “Every day a different person would cook all three meals in a day, and whenever my time came, I made them all of the most vegan foods you can think of.”

“They probably hated those days.” I say, and she raises her eyebrows, “I mean, I know that I wouldn’t be able to give up meat on a whim like that.”

She giggled again, “True enough, and yeah, in the beginning I did make the most bland, boring vegan foods I could think of.” She smiled, “But then, on the evening of the third day I took to cooking, I started actually trying. Every meal after that, I put in a little extra, I started actually working on my food, making it as tasty as can be.”

“Really?” I ask, “What kind of stuff did you make?” and she smiled back, “I can cook tofu in eight hundred different ways if you let me, and not a single one of them tastes the same.” Her smile turned into a grin, of both pride and a little arrogance. I simply smiled in response; I probably shouldn’t point out that she mentioned nothing about these eight hundred different tastes being any good.

“Well, when the housekeeper we hired ended up recovering and was going to come up again, I ended up cooking the last meal. By that point, they were already enjoying the stuff I made.” She smiled, “…So for that evening, I made barbecue.” She grinned, “Just every kind of meat you could think of, prepared in every sort of way, and all of it delicious.”

I laugh a little, “They must’ve been _very_ surprised.”

She nodded, “They were indeed.” A pause, “Elsword was the first to say that he thought I was a vegan, and when I asked him whether it was because I was an elf, everyone just kind of went quiet.” She grinned a little, “Then I told him the truth – elves hunt just as much as anyone else, we just make a point of not hunting anything that we can’t fully make use of.” She smiled a little, “Take full advantage of Nature’s Bounty, or else do not take it at all. That’s something that every elf learns when they’re very young.”

“You sound very fond of your people.” I say, but to my slight surprise, she frowns in response, and quietly shakes her head. She doesn’t say anything, her expression turning a little sorrowful and letting out a sigh of discontent.

“Hey!” I hear a voice from behind, and as I turn towards it, I can see Tai at the edge of the water, “Time’s up people! We gotta go in just a bit!”

“Oh.” Rena says, getting up, “Looks like that’s our cue to leave.” She smiles, that earlier, sorrowful expression nowhere to be seen. I smile back to her, and as she starts to walk back to the dry sand, I follow behind her. “Thank you for the company, Veemon.” She starts, “I don’t necessarily mind being alone, but having someone to talk to is always better.”

“No problem.” I smile back, “I’m glad I could be there for you, when one of your friends didn’t make it.” And she giggles a bit, “Elsword kind of does what he wants on a whim, him not coming wasn’t surprising.” Then she turns back to me, “But again, thank you all the same.”

I nod, and as my feet find the proper shore again, Rena starts walking towards her friends as she waves goodbye, and I turn around after she does leave.

But weirdly, I feel this stronger gust of wind behind me as I do, and as I turn around, I see Rena again, still walking away, but… wait, is her hair dry? How?

“Vee!” I hear, and turning towards the voice, I can see Davis running towards me, “Hope you had fun, cause we’re leaving.” He says, looking down to me as he approaches. I smile back, “I had fun, yeah.” I reply, smile on my face, “What about you? Did you win the volleyball match?”

Davis shakes his head, “Nah. That blonde guy from Omega is a little too much.” He smiles, and I tilt my head inquisitively, “You don’t seem torn up about it.” I say, “Since when are you a good loser?”

He snorts, laughing, “Look, I never said I won’t get better and beat him at his game, alright?” he smiles, “But I’m not above admitting that, at least _for now_ , he’s more than I can handle at volleyball.”

I shrug, “Whatever you say.” I answer, smiling, “I made a friend from Omega.” I reply, “That Rena girl is fun to talk to.” Let’s leave out the detail that I did most of the talking.

“That’s good to know, Elsword invited me to hang out at some point, he said he might bring her with.” He smiles, “Guess we both made a friend from Omega today.” He places his hand on his hip, and I smile back, “Yep!”

“Now, come on.” Davis turned around, “We gotta pack up and go back.”

September 10th,2025  
10:37PM, Eastern Standard Time

We packed up and went back to the bus, with Jun having gotten significantly tanner than I expected her to. Still, as we started riding back, Tai got up in the bus and asked the group if anyone was up to visit a sports club and have some games together. I was a little surprised to find that basically everyone agreed to it, from the guys to the girls and almost all of the Digimon.

Most of us had brought stuff to eat at the beach, so we were full and ready to go. Tai brought us to a sports club whose name I didn’t catch, but it was huge enough to have… well, every sport I could think of? Volleyball, Basketball, both American Football and Soccer, Tennis – in Tai’s own words, “If it could fit in a sports club, it’s here”.

We ended up separated into several groups as some people went to practice different sports. Sora and Mimi ended up going for Tennis, I found, while most of the others went into volleyball. Some of the Digimon tried to find something to do, Armadillomon briefly mentioned wanting to be the ball on a basketball game, but basically everyone agreed that was a bad idea. I’m not sure if he was being sarcastic or not.

The few that remained ended up being into Soccer. That was Tai and Matt, as before, alongside their own Digimon. Davis and I took to the opposite team this time, with Takato and Ken as our third and fourth. It was to my surprise that Rena volunteered to play as well, and when she did, another one from her team – Aisha, I think was her name – mentioned that it would be unfair if no one else from Omega wanted to play too.

After their group had a very brief deliberation, they all pointed to that white-and-black haired man in the trench coat. I remember him sighing and very politely asking us to not be _too_ shocked. Nobody understood what he meant until he took the trench coat off, first, revealing that he was shirtless underneath it, second, revealing that his torso was covered in very large scars, and third, that both of his arms and most of his upper body were entirely metallic and robotic.

Both of his arms, his entire back, both the left and right side of his upper body and most of his neck were completely black with a metal that more resembled scales than skin, even his regular, presumably human skin had that metal basically growing over it. The palms of his hands and his wrists were more of a fiery red in color, and I could see a small rosary held by his neck, which made me realize that the bottom of his chin was also blackened with that metal. He looked very uncomfortable at first, but after a little encouragement, and assuring everyone that he would be the goalie so the opposite team could keep up with Rena, it was decided that he would play.

I do remember that Aisha girl making a quip, though, “With both Rena and Raven in the team, we’re going to need a whole new ball every goal. Probably more.” I remember thinking that she was exaggerating. She was. But much less so than I could have realized.

We took some time to warm up, Agumon, Gabumon and myself getting used to kicking the ball since it was comparatively much larger to us than it was to the others. It took a few minutes and a few tries, during which the others took their warmup routines and grabbed a few spare sports clothes from the lockers – I remember asking if the club was closed or something, and simply getting a laugh from Eve. “Don’t worry about it.” She said.

Gabumon had more issue than Agumon and I to get used to the ball again, since this isn’t exactly the first time we play with Tai and Davis. It was good to get used to it again, though. Once the teams were drawn up as expected – myself, Davis, Ken, Takato and Raven on one side, Gabumon, Matt, Tai, Agumon and Rena on the other – it got off to a rather… explosive start.

Davis took the ball and went to pass it to me and… Rena just took it. She blocked the pass and ran, practically cross-court, faster than I’ve ever seen anyone run. By the time I looked back, she had already crossed a third of the court and was getting ready to kick the ball.

And what really amazed me at that more was the sheer _sound_ of the impact of her foot against the ball, so strong I’m sure it echoed out to the entire club, and also the sheer _speed_ of the ball as it went right for the goal. I’m not sure what surprised me more at the time, the sheer strength of the kick, or the fact that Raven actually managed to block it with his arms without budging an inch. I remember looking at the man with a smile on his face, and I remember looking at the stands where the rest of Omega was and exactly none of them seemed surprised at the slightest. I know I shouldn’t be surprised considering how this wouldn’t be an issue for something like a Mega, but it is still _scary_ to see such normal-looking people capable of so much.

Most of the match was our team trying to keep the ball from Rena, a task that proved to be extremely difficult, especially when she started _running on the walls_. Still, despite her best attempts, we learned rather quickly that smaller passes were impossible for her to intercept, so even though she stole the ball a lot early on, it didn’t last for the whole match. We were lucky to have Raven too – he didn’t let a single one of her early shots score a goal.

Once we actually managed to _keep_ the ball, it was time to mount an attack, a task that proved rather difficult as even without having to keep Rena from stealing our passes, we still had to deal with Tai, who very much seemed to have kept his practice. Rena was their strongest attacker, but Tai, Agumon and Gabumon were very solid on the defense too.

And the few times we did get past them, Matt was surprisingly good at being a goalie, and whenever he lacked, Gabumon was always, _somehow,_ there to pick up on his deficiencies.

Takato and Ken ran defense, whereas Davis and I took to the offense as best we could. It was good to see that, despite some early mishaps, I could still take Davis’s pass with very few issues. Davis smiled throughout the whole thing, even when we very clearly weren’t doing very much progress on the actually _winning_ part. Also, I _swear_ he was running faster than he did when we were racing yesterday, I guess he’s a _really_ good sprinter.

Ken and Takato didn’t have as many issues blocking the few attacks that Tai made, as his familiarity with Rena wasn’t as strong, and while she could adapt to his passes well enough, he couldn’t do the same to hers. They also very quickly realized that while Rena was really good at sprinting and _really_ good at doing long-range strong kicks, her actual control of the ball left something to be desired.

But the whole combination of factors meant that, for most of a two-hour match, neither side managed to score a single goal. It didn’t help that, much like how Aisha predicted, the sheer beating that Rena and Raven were giving the ball meant that it became unusable eventually, we ended up having to use four different balls for that match.

It would have ended on a tie if it weren’t for the literal last minute of the match. Davis had the ball, he passed to me, and in his exhaustion, Matt lost his balance, Gabumon wasn’t close enough to block my shot, so I kicked into the goal, and then the world basically went into slow motion.

I remember seeing that blur of the golden hair, leaping towards the ball, she came from behind me, I’m sure of it, and as she turned around in midair, her right leg swung with everything she got, connecting with the ball and making me hear that weird, high-pitched noise of a fast moving object going right past me.

I wasn’t even done bringing my foot down when she kicked off the top goalpost and threw herself back to the ground, rolling forward right next to me and breaking off into a sprint. I remember looking back, seeing Raven blocking the ball with both arms, seeing it fly into the air, and Rena leaping and kicking it into the goal hard enough to break through the net.

It probably took more than that, but the whole process felt like it only took one second.

After that, everyone collapsed to the ground, exhausted after the match. Rena looked very pleased with what she did, while Raven simply sighed in exasperation. Raven looked fine, but Rena looked a bit winded, although certainly not nearly as tired as the rest of us were.

Once we took to the lockers and had a few laughs over the whole thing, we dried ourselves, used some of the showers to make sure we weren’t drenched in sweat – Raven didn’t come, I assume because of the whole… metallic body thing, and obviously, Rena went to another locker room. Davis and I took a shower together, since the other destined were also taking showers with their respective Digimon. It was less awkward than I expected, admittedly, mostly because Davis seemed to want to get it done as soon as possible to minimize the risk of, as he put it, “accidents”.

After we were done, clothed and rested, the whole group was brought to a restaurant not too far from where we were, we had a private section on the second floor for us, it was a restaurant that served a mix of Japanese and Italian cuisine, which most people seemed to enjoy from what I could gather. I didn’t see quite as many stares in our direction this time, until I realized that, much like the Sports Club, we were literally the only people on the second floor.

It was around this time that I asked if they had done something similar with the beach earlier. Eve, again, simply laughed and told me to not worry about it.

Afterwards, we went back to the hotel. We were given free time to do whatever we wanted then, so some of us went out again, some of us stayed around. Davis was very tired, so the two of us stayed around the hotel, we spent most of the time talking to others, before retiring to our room and watching TV.

We watched nothing of importance, although Davis did make a point to stay very far away from any news channels. The TV practically became background noise very quickly though, and… well, I’m pretty sure I fell asleep while nuzzling Davis’s neck.

Right now, with my eyes open and the TV playing some action flick that I definitely don’t remember seeing before, I can see Davis outside on the balcony, having changed into his pajamas, he has been like that for a few minutes, staring out to the city and the ocean. I stretch myself a little before getting up, and opening the glass door to the balcony.

The air hits me immediately, it’s only a little chilly, but the humidness of the air makes it almost pleasant to be in. I’ve never really liked the dry air. Davis looks over his shoulder as he hears the door open, but doesn’t fully turn around, both arms on the railing, looking out. As I go to his side and look up to him, I can see that he has a small smile on his face.

“We got lucky to get such a nice view.” Davis starts, and as I look outside, towards the waves of the beach clearly visible even in the darkness of the night, towards the lights of the city illuminating everything, I can see what he means. Even if I were to let myself be melancholic for a moment, try as I might, I can’t really look anywhere and see obvious signs of the remnants of the war here. No destroyed houses or obvious destruction left behind, no districts left completely lightless, and I only see one building in construction, off in the distance. I’m sure someone more familiar with the area might find the hints that I’m missing, but at least, looking at this view doesn’t bring a sense of dread and sorrow to my mind as looking out the bedroom’s window does.

Looking out here, one could pretend.

“Yeah.” I reply to him, letting a smile creep to my face, “You seem to be enjoying it a lot, you’ve been here a while.” I continue, but he doesn’t reply, he keeps looking out towards the ocean and the lights of the city. His smile doesn’t waver though, and eventually, he lowers one of his hands to my head, gently caressing me as he does.

I lean a little into it, getting slightly closer to him as I do. He chuckles a bit under his breath, but keeps petting me absentmindedly, his thoughts are clearly somewhere else, but even then, he continues caressing me. His thumb moves to playing with my ear a little, and I have to let out a little giggle as I feel it tickle a bit.

“I was just thinking about a thing or two.” He starts, still playing with me, “Today was quite fun, wasn’t it?” he smiles, and I smile back, “Yeah, it was, we both made new friends and you lost in sports twice.”

He then turns back to me, pouting, “You lost too.” He starts, then after a moment, he lets out a sigh, and laughs. “…I gotta stop being so easy to rile up.” He shakes his head, and I pout in return, “Awwww, but that’s half the fun!”

He laughs in response, “And you’re an ass.” He replies, before turning around, “I think I’ve done enough thinking, we should probably get back inside before I catch a cold or something.” He chuckles a bit, and with no objections, I go with him back to the bedroom, closing the glass door behind me.

Davis sits down on the bed, and grabbing the remote, turns off the TV. I raise an eyebrow, “You’re going back to sleep?” I ask, but he shakes his head, “Well, maybe, but that’s not what I was thinking of.” He smiles, and as I approach him, he grabs me from below the arms, and places me on his lap, hugging me strongly. “Today was a fun day, but we didn’t exactly get much private time.” He smiles, placing his chin on my head.

I’m sitting sideways on him, so I hug him with one arm and let my head fall on his chest afterwards. “Hmmm, yeah.” I let out, letting my eyes close as he starts gently caressing my back, “We fell asleep almost as soon as we hit the bed, I think.” I giggle a bit, and I can feel the little vibrations as he chuckles back, “We were both pretty tired.” He starts, “…But I wanted to do this for a bit, I really am addicted to you.”

I smile, and raise my head a bit, placing my lips upon his again, I cautiously press a little harder, feeling his teeth a little as I do so, and pull back before it becomes uncomfortable for both of us. Still, as it happens, I can feel his soft breath on me, the gentle rising and falling of his chest, the wetness of his lips and their lingering warmth. I raise my hand to caress his hair a bit, my fingers feeling the strands and they pass through it, it was so soft and nice…

And then our lips part, and that lingering warmth on my lips lasts for only a moment. Whenever we stop kissing, I’m always left with that want for more, it’s so delightful as it’s happening, that it ends up leaving a void when it’s done. That little warmth in my chest just pleading for one more second.

I smile back, “…Yeah, I’m addicted to you too.” I reply, and as I keep caressing his hair and look deep into those beautiful eyes, I simply ask, “…Would you mind if we…” I stop for a moment, trying to think of the term, “…make out for a bit?” I _think_ that’s it.

There is very little light in the room, the only thing really giving us any good lighting being the moon outside, with everything else turned off, it is very dark. But I can still see him smile, and I can still see his cheeks turn a little red. He gives a very small, weak nod, and I press my lips to his again.

His breathing is slow and tender, and I can feel it hit my nose periodically as we go back to kissing. With my other hand, I move to gently caressing his cheek, my thumb especially, while one of his hands keeps caressing my back. I smile a bit, and break the kiss for just a moment, turning my body to him fully, so I’m no longer sitting sideways. When we kiss again, I let both of my arms fall to his shoulders, hugging his neck, and I can feel him pressing a bit harder into me.

Our lips part for just a second to catch our breaths, and when they touch again, I can feel him press harder, to pull me tighter against him, I pull on his neck a bit more, breathing in deeply and getting that scent of him that I’ve grown to notice more and more the last few days. It was _exhilarating._

I feel his hand go a bit lower on my back, from the top, to the middle, and finally to my lower back, his pinkie just barely touching my tail, and I can feel him hesitate a bit, digging his fingers just a bit more into my scales and stopping there. I can feel the hardness in his pants start to grow a bit more as it starts to touch my own groin.

I smile a bit and break the kiss, and after breathing in his scent a little more, I move my head to his neck, kissing it once before I start nuzzling it and giving it small kisses. I exhale strongly once, and in response, Davis lets out a tiny moan. The hardness in his pants grows stronger still – he wants this, badly.

And I want it too.

I place another kiss on his neck, before I let out my tongue just a bit to lick it. I can feel the goosebumps running through his body, the little sigh he lets out in response, and I lower my left hand towards his chest, and I gently lower it, massaging his chest for a bit at first, then to his abdomen, nuzzling him a bit more while I inhale again, that same scent from before so much _stronger_ now.

My hand reaches his belly, and he flinches just a little bit. In turn, I play with it a bit, rubbing his belly gently as he calms down under my touch, I feel him raise his head a bit, as he starts to nibble on one of my ears. I let out a small moan in response, my body shivering from his touch to such a sensitive spot of mine. After a moment, I bite him just a little on the neck, and he shivers a little in response. Guess I found one of his weak spots.

My hand lowers again, and I’m pretty sure he’s already fully hard at this point. It’s difficult to not feel the tip of my dick as it slowly escapes from its hidden pouch, rubbing against the fabric of his clothing. I lick my lips a little as I grab his pants and underwear and start pulling them down.

But then his hand catches my wrist, stopping me, I blink twice and remove my head from his neck. I pull back, letting go of his clothes, and he looks to me, still blushing a bit, but mostly trying to catch his breath, “W-What’s wrong?” I ask.

“Vee I…” he stops for a moment, and I can see the small mouth movements he makes, trying to find the right words, “H-How much experience do you have with this?” his tone is more concerned than embarrassed. He sounds like he has a hard time believing that this is happening at all. He doesn’t hold my wrist very strongly, he’s almost letting go, and he’s not pushing me away.

I smile back, “I guess that depends on what you mean?” I ask, I’m not quite sure what he means, I just hope this doesn’t fully kill the mood, “Because uh… well, if we do—” I stop myself from outright saying “if we do fuck”, Davis is definitely embarrassed and considering his anxieties from earlier, it’s probably better if I keep this a bit… lighter. “…if we do go all the way, it wouldn’t be my first time.” I smile a bit more, “Far from it.”

Davis blinks twice, but then shakes his head slightly, “Yeah but… with a guy?” he asks, and I smile a bit, really Davis, you do get hung up on the weirdest things, don’t you?

“You wouldn’t be my first guy either, no.” _Not by a long shot_ is probably not something I should add to the end of that. “I know what I’m doing Davis, I swear.” I smile, placing my hand on his cheek and caressing him again, I can feel the little twitch that his dick does under the fabric.

“In… in that case.” Davis takes a deep breath, I can feel his body trembling just a bit, his breathing is a little uneven, “Could you… could you take the lead?” he asks, and I nod, I mean, this is exactly what I was already doing but—“I… don’t want to hurt you.” Oh. So _that’s_ what he means.

I can’t help but giggle a little under my breath. I shake my head at him and smile again, “Don’t worry Davis.” I answer, and my hand reaches again for his clothes, lowering his pants and underwear as I do so. He doesn’t stop me this time, instead letting me pull them down slowly and surely. I look him in the eyes for a few seconds, I almost expect him to turn away, but he doesn’t. He’s still blushing a little, but he’s smiling, looking at me.

I turn down and have to raise an eyebrow when I see the sheer amount of pubes he has; he definitely hasn’t trimmed in a while. Afterwards, I can see the flesh start to show, and as I pull on it a bit more strongly, his clothes come down to his thighs, and I can see it as it flops back into its fully erect position.

I go down, laying down belly-first on the bed and placing my head on his thigh as I grab his member with my left hand, holding it just a bit. This is hardly the first time I’ve seen his dick, what’s with all of the baths and the showers we’ve taken over the years, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen it fully erect like that. I pull back on the foreskin a little, showing the pink flesh of his gland and the little wet drop that comes out of the tip. Maybe I’m just too used to Digimon, but I was fully expecting him to be a bit larger. I don’t know if he’s average or not for humans, but I can hold it in my hands with no issues, so I was expecting a bit more.

I inhale a little again, getting that delicious scent of his musk mixed with a small amount of sweat, I feel myself open my mouth slightly, it’s so _intoxicating_. I look up slightly, to see Davis looking back down at me, his breathing has accelerated just as much as mine has, and I smile to him, finally holding firmly to his dick and giving it a gentle squeeze, “You _really_ don’t need to worry about that.” I say, giving it a few slow, gentle strokes. He raises one eyebrow, and after a brief grin, I look back down to his dick, right in front of me, “You wouldn’t even be the biggest guy I’ve taken.”

Before he can reply in any way, I open my mouth and press it against the side of his dick, holding it steady with my hand as I press both my lips and the tip of my tongue against it. He gives out a surprised gasp, his hands raise a little, but they don’t stop me as I move my head up and down his length, feeling his pubes brushing against my face as I do so. I suckle on it a bit, licking the side as I do so, and he lets out a low moan.

With one hand still steadily holding his dick, I raise my head slightly and go a bit higher on him, before using my other hand to keep pulling his pants down. From his thighs, to his knees, to his ankles, before he proceeds to kick them off himself. With his pants gone, he opens his legs a little, and I use my other hand to keep my balance as I raise my head again, pulling a little more on his foreskin, revealing the full thing.

I smile before getting back to work, placing my tongue right on the tip of his pink flesh, earning a small shiver for it, and then sliding it down quickly through his length, and just as I come back up, I can feel the salty taste of a droplet of precum coming into my mouth. I smile, touching both of my lips to the head and suckling on it only a bit, earning a sigh from Davis.

I open my eyes a little more, and I can see that he’s tensing his muscles, trying to hold himself back from too much noise, probably. None of that. I want you to _enjoy_ yourself.

I shift my weight, keeping my balance on my knees and not on my arm. Thankfully, I’m both small and flexible enough that this doesn’t impede my ability to give him a good blowjob, and I use my now free arm to reach for his hand, grabbing it and interlacing my fingers with his. He seems a little surprised by it, but his hand grasps mine strongly, and he lets out a low moan, finally with a breath he had been holding.

I smile and then place my tongue lower on his gland, right below the head proper, and then with my other hand, I pull his skin back up, placing my tongue in between the head and the sensitive foreskin. Davis lets out a loud gasp in response, “Vee!” he says, and moans as I start moving my tongue. I can feel his body shivering and trembling under me, I can feel his dick twitching in response to what I’m doing. I can feel the salty taste of his pre upon my tongue. It is _delightful._

But eventually, I take a very deep breath, open my mouth and place his dick in it, putting my tongue on top of my lower teeth and opening my jaw just a bit higher to make sure my top teeth don’t scrape against his dick. I go down, feeling his member go deep into my mouth and start to reach my throat, before I pull back up, hearing the long, high-pitched moan that escapes his lips. His dick twitches inside of my mouth, almost begging for more, and I happily oblige it as I go all the way down to his base again, this time going just a bit deeper, putting his entire length into my mouth and pressing against his pubes. It’s been a very long time since I could deepthroat anyone. Glad I can still do it.

I let myself stay like that for a moment, inhaling against the delicious scent of his musk as my nose is tickled by his pubes, but before I can pull back and go for another, and just as I feel another twitch of his dick in my mouth, I can feel Davis’s hand upon my head. At first, I think that he’s going to push me further down, but it very quickly becomes apparent that he’s pushing me out. Crap.

I come back up, a trail of my saliva lingering behind, “Sorry, were the teeth catching you?” I ask, looking up to him. He doesn’t say anything, catching his breath, and I can feel another twitch in my hand, “N-No… no… that was…” he gulps down once, “…that was fantastic.” He continues, and then, he smiles a little, “Just… I was getting too close to cumming there.”

I blink twice, “…Isn’t that kind of the point?” I ask, and Davis seems a little taken aback by my question, “I… don’t want this to be over yet.” He continues, licking his lips a little as his breathing finally starts to come back to normal, I tilt my head slightly, “…Can humans only cum once?” Oh man, and I was really looking forward to tasting his cum too.

He exhales a little strongly, giggling, “Well… I guess some can do it multiple times.” He starts, and then shakes his head, “…Not me though.” The blush is gone from his face, he seems a little more confident now. I hadn’t even realized before that he took his shirt off, but places his other hand on my chin and pulls me in, placing his lips against mine again. This time, his lips part slightly, and I can feel his tongue pressing against my lips. I exhale a little, pushing my tongue against his, invading his mouth just as much as he invades mine. I lick his lips and his teeth a little as I do, earning a small smile from him.

And when our lips part, this time what’s left isn’t so much a void as an absolute _need_. I smile back to him and take a deep breath, looking back down. My dick is completely out, neglected entirely up until this point. I feel it twitch involuntarily and I smile a little, before I turn back to him, “Ready to keep going?” I ask. His smile widens a bit, and he nods.

I raise one hand and push him to lay down on the bed, and once his head has hit the pillow, I go back down in between his legs. I pull both of his thighs up, and then place my nose against the base of his dick and his balls one more time, taking a long, delicious whiff again. Man, I do hope I’m not being weird with this, his smell is just so _good_.

I lower my head again, and with both of my hands I spread his butt cheeks wide, smiling as I see his entrance in front of me. Boy I’m glad that Davis is good on his hygiene, or else I wouldn’t even consider doing this. I press my mouth against him and give his hole a long, slow lick. I can feel his body trembling as I do, the moan he lets out as his legs fall on my shoulders and I finally stop with my first lick. I lower my hand to my own dick, and start stroking it with as much speed and strength as my need demands.

I press my tongue against his hole a bit harder, giving him another slow lick, and he responds by hugging me with both of his legs, pulling me a bit harder, encouraging me to keep going. I smile a bit as I start flicking my tongue at his entrance, giving him short, quick licks in response to my previous ones. He moans again, “Fuck…” he lets out, “I didn’t… think I’d like it… this much…” Oh, is this the first time someone eats him out? Well, then…

I giggle a little under my breath as I press my tongue against his hole a bit harder, and I feel it give way after a while, with him letting out a gasp of surprise. I push my tongue inside of him, pressing it against all of his inner walls, rotating it slightly as I do. He moans again, “Vee…” he lets out, his body still shivering in response to what I’m doing. I grab his asscheek just a little harder as I continue to press against him.

Hmm… I wonder…

I pull my tongue back a little bit, and then I start pressing it upwards against his walls, with some strength. He doesn’t seem to realize what I’m doing, even as I slowly do the same deeper and deeper inside of him. For a moment, I’m ready to be disappointed, but just as I was ready to give up…

“Vee!” I hear him say, and I stop everything, I don’t remove my tongue or anything, but I can feel his body trembling, his breathing strong and uneven, broken as he tries to catch his breath, the sighs and the moans escaping his lips as he does. I press against that same spot again, lighter this time, and his body has another spasm, he lets out a smaller moan. I start rubbing that spot with my tongue, and he starts to let out a strong, high-pitched moan from him mouth, long and continuous, as he hugs me again with his legs and pulls me in harder.

I continue to rub that spot with the same speed and strength as before, feeling him as he pulls me harder and moans a bit louder. Sometimes, he tries to close his mouth and I can hear little whimpers of need escape him, and sometimes, his sighs are strong, his breathing ragged and needy. Sometimes, I press just a tiny bit harder against that spot, earning me a yelp for my work, a fact that satisfies me _greatly._

But even as I continue, I can feel the pressure start to build up within me, the pumps of my hand start getting needier and stronger, faster, and I let out moans involuntarily. My tongue stops moving almost entirely as I feel the first orgasm I’ve had in who knows how long cross through my body. My dick twitching in my hand as I feel myself ejaculate, as I focus more of my strokes on my own head. Halfway through, I have to pull out my tongue from Davis and lower my head to breathe more, letting out a long sigh mixed in with a moan.

But when my orgasm does end, my dick twitches one last time, leaving out another glob of semen from its tip, I breathe in deeply, but… I want more. I’m not satisfied. It’s been so goddamn long. _Fuck._

I pull myself up using my right hand, with my left hand smearing my own dick with what of my semen ended on it. I place myself in between Davis’s legs again, I look at him for a moment. He’s sweating and breathing quickly, panting and letting out the occasional sigh. His eyes are closed and he’s holding his hair back with one of his hands.

He doesn’t react when I get up, but he does react when I press the tip of my dick to his entrance, “Vee?” he asks, opening just one eye, I smile back to him, looking at his twitching dick before I start to push into him. I can feel myself slide in easily, his slick interior taking my length quickly. I let out a sigh in satisfaction, of relief. I can feel his inner walls pushing against me, how they stretch as I go in deeper. Oh _fuck yes._

I feel myself go completely inside of Davis with no delays, and then I shift my weight just a little bit, angling my hips a bit more upwards to press more against the top side of his walls, before I start moving. Davis moans loudly in response, and I can’t help but let out a sigh myself, as I remove most of my length from inside of him and then thrust inwards again. He lets out another moan, and his hand moves to his mouth, trying to muffle his own noises.

Fuck Davis, you really should be beyond shame at this point. I lean forward just a bit to grab his other hand, and pull it downwards, closing his hand around his own dick and moving it to stroke it. He lets out another moan, and I smile a little more, another low moan escaping my lips. I get small goosebumps whenever I feel him contract around me, how he squeezes me just right, egging me on more and more.

I start to accelerate, the sounds of my hips hitting his ass very audible now, and he lets out another good moan. “Vee…” he can barely bring himself to talk now, I can see the drool coming out of his mouth, his eyes closed just as he keeps trying, and failing, to cover for his moaning. Ordinarily, I probably would lean forward to grab his other hand, but fuck, the mere thought of stopping this for even a second prevents me from doing so. I want to fuck him _so badly._

He starts pushing his hips more against me, letting out another moan as he does so, I try to twitch my dick inside of him, but whether or not that works I don’t know nor do I particularly care at the moment. I don’t think I’ve ever been this sensitive in my life, I can already feel a second orgasm coming.

And when I do, I start going into him faster, turning my thrusts into the most fast-paced rams I can, he lets out a higher-pitched moan. The pressure starts to build up again, and I can only feel the intensity growing with each thrust and each ram I give into him. He squeezes me again, and I moan more loudly, completely losing what little control I still had over my body.

I can feel myself cum inside of him, filling his hole with my spunk as needily as I had been the rest of this night. I can’t even bring myself to stop thrusting, trying to keep this orgasm going for as long as possible. My breathing shuddered and broke as the last few shots came out, my hips finally allowing themselves to slow down, a dull pain on both of them of exhaustion.

And when I finally finished, I pulled myself out, falling forward and having to catch myself with both arms, my breathing completely and utterly out of control. I open my eyes for a moment, seeing the white drops that cover Davis’s torso and belly, a trail of them leading down to his dick and hand, covered in his own cum. I lick my lips for a second, but…

My left arm trembles, and I let myself fall to his side, a wave of both euphoria and exhaustion hitting me like a truck, even as I desperately try to get proper air into my lungs again. It takes all of my effort to crawl upwards towards him, letting my head fall on the pillow next to his as I quietly, gently nuzzle his neck again. His arm goes under my neck, hugging me, and I smile in response.

If my body weren’t so exhausted, if my eyelids weren’t so heavy, I’d tell him that this was the best night I’ve had in forever. I’d tell him how much I love him and how much he means to me. I’d probably tease him a bit over what just happened, and I’d probably bring him for another, long, passionate kiss. But I’m completely beat.

Well, with any luck, this won’t be the only night. And I can always tease him tomorrow. But for now, as I nuzzle his neck once more and give it one gentle kiss, I can just bask in the sweet afterglow, and drift gently into happy sleep.

I love you, Davis.


	9. Mistake

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter this time around - while nothing exactly NSFW happens in this chapter, language here is very much NSFW.

September 11th, 2025  
7:38AM, Eastern Standard Time

He felt the little nuzzle on him before he even opened his eyes, he could feel the scales brushing against his skin and the smile that it brought to his face. He kissed the little dragon’s ahead, absentmindedly, fully aware that he was probably still asleep.

When his eyes opened to the morning light, he could see the little blue dragon, blissfully asleep, laying down on his shoulder. He smiled weakly, even as he slept, probably having the most pleasant of dreams over what happened last night.

Davis wasn’t blessed with pleasant dreams so much as he was allowed a dreamless night full of restful sleep. He was already a little tired when they started, even through his nap, and he never actually expected them to go as far as they did. A part in the back of his head was so very glad they had.

And then he looked at his own body, the disgusting dried semen having stuck to his body hair, just as much as he could still feel that weird discomfort and awkward pain coming from his ass. It pulsed, just slightly, and he let out a long sigh. Yesterday had been good but… damn, he wasn’t expecting Vee to go that far. And he certainly wasn’t expecting him to go that _rough_. A part of him chastised himself for not being clearer with what he meant when he said “take the lead”.

He pulled his arm from under Veemon, thankfully the little dragon just as much of a heavy sleeper as always, and sat down on the bed, trying very hard to not think of wherever Veemon’s own cum had dried in the past few hours. He got up, a small, dull pain coming back to him, and walked himself to the bathroom. He needed a goddamn shower.

He turned on the hot water and let himself be engulfed below it, turning his head upwards and feeling the small pinpricks hit his face as much as they hit his whole body. With soap in hand, he absentmindedly passed it through his torso – there’s a part of him that remembers last night and is taken aback at just how _good_ Veemon was. He probably shouldn’t be this surprised that Veemon has some experience, he’s been around for a long time at this point, but he guessed there was always that part of him that never stopped thinking of Veemon as naïve and a little innocent.

Even that comment of Veemon’s, how Davis wasn’t the biggest guy the little dragon had taken? He said it with such a cocky expression, it’s difficult to say whether he was boasting or serious. Davis didn’t think of himself as _huge_ but… Veemon’s body was so much smaller than a human’s – it was a little impressive.

And he was even a little scared at how much he enjoyed it when Veemon started rimming him. It was certainly a new experience he wasn’t quite ready to have, but he was kind of glad he did – even if it did mean he spent the last who knows how many years not knowing of a whole aspect of his body that he didn’t explore before. Ah well. Could always start now.

But then that dull pain came back to him, and he was forced to frown, especially as he made sure to clean himself – for as enjoyable as it all was, it was still overwhelming, and way more than he expected to _do_ last night. Veemon obviously didn’t mean to, but he did end up hurting him, and that’s never a nice conversation to have to have. Does Veemon even realize that spit and cum aren’t exactly very good lubricants?

…He really should’ve thought ahead and brought lube.

He turned off the water and grabbed one of the towels, drying himself off as best he could. He, at the very least, was no longer smelling of sex and sweat, and he felt much better for it. Still, he needed to have a word with Veemon as soon as he woke up. If this were to continue – and gods, he hoped it would – then Veemon needed to know that even if he enjoyed it, he should’ve at least asked first.

Once he was fully dry and his hair was under something resembling control, he left the bathroom and took his pajamas from the floor, smelling them for a second. They were, fortunately, still clean, as he had worn them right before Veemon woke up and taken them off before they really got into it. He felt better not walking naked, even if the room was private.

A small fear rose up to his stomach, and he quickly went to check on the door, confirming that, yes, he had remembered to lock the door before it all went down. He sighed in relief, but still hated the fact that he didn’t check beforehand. He had gotten a little paranoid about it ever since that _one time_ Jun caught him.

After a deep breath, he turned back to the bed, seeing the little blue dragon that still slept as soundly and as heavily as before. He smiled a little, Veemon was always so cute when he was asleep, especially when he pulled on his own tail and hugged it. He went around the bed and sat down next to Veemon, touching his head and playing with his ear a little.

But then the little dragon let out a small grunt, raising his head a little. Davis’s hand flinched back, and he placed it back at his side. With a smile, Veemon started, “Good morning, Davis”. Davis shook his head slightly, a goofy smile on his face, “Morning, Vee.”

“Man…” Veemon rubbed his cheek a little on the pillow, “…I think this was the best night’s sleep I got in a very long time.” He chuckled a bit, and Davis snorted, “You said that a few days ago already.”

Veemon pouted a little, opening his eyes a bit, “Well, it’s true.” He said, before smiling, “What about you? Sleep well?” he asked. Davis turned away for a moment, sighing, which immediately made Veemon frown a little, “Something wrong?”

“Sort of, we do need to talk about something.” Davis started, and Veemon almost immediately pushed himself into a sitting position. He rubbed both of his eyes, trying to remove the grogginess from his mind, and after a few seconds, he looked towards Davis, blinking a few times to clear his vision, “What’s up?” he asked.

“It’s uh… It’s about last night.” Davis started, and as he looked to Veemon, the little dragon had his mouth just a little open, a look of concern and confusion on his face. He nodded slowly, prompting Davis to breathe in deeply and look back to him. “I’m not going to say I didn’t like last night, because I did.” He rubbed his eyes, and let out a small groan. Gods, he never thought he’d be on _this_ side of the conversation.

“But…” he stops for a second, licking his lips slightly to think on his words, “…I… wasn’t expecting us to go that far.” He continued, and Veemon tilted his head slightly, “I… thought you told me to take the lead?” a pause, “Because you didn’t want to hurt me.”

Davis mentally hit himself immediately, of course that’s how he would’ve interpreted it. He just meant that he had never sucked a dick before, and he was worried about hurting him if he did. Christ.

“Okay… I guess I should’ve been a bit clearer.” Davis groaned in annoyance at himself. He felt Veemon’s hand touch his on the bed, which led to him turning back to the dragon, his expression relaxing a bit, “But it’s fine, right?” Veemon asked, “I mean, you enjoyed it, so it ended up fine in the end.”

“Well, yeah but…” Davis awkwardly started to scratch his cheek, “It wasn’t really… how this is supposed to go?” Veemon tilted his head a little, “…Are you telling me that or asking me?” he asked in response, to which Davis sighed loudly, okay, he definitely needed to choose better words.

He was thankful, then, that despite his clear confusion, Veemon was giving him a moment to collect his thoughts. He breathed in deeply again, letting out a very long sigh, “Look, I don’t want this to sound worse than it is but like…” he paused for a bit, “…it did hurt.”

Veemon’s ears dropped, his expression immediately growing sullen and his mouth turning into a small, thin line, “…So you _didn’t_ enjoy it.” He starts, and Davis shakes his head, “No, that’s not what I mean.” He sighed again, “I _did_ but like, I enjoyed it _despite_ the pain.” He paused a bit, “…I would’ve preferred if the pain wasn’t there though.”

Veemon blinked a few times, “But… that’s just how sex is?” he said, “I mean, maybe not with girls but, that’s basically always how it goes with guys.” His mouth turned into a thin line, “There’s always pain when you’re getting fucked in the ass, Davis.” He said, clearly sounding a little annoyed.

“Wha—no!” he let out, “That’s not how anal’s supposed to go! Pain is always a sign that something _very wrong_ is going on!”

Veemon blinked again, “I don’t get it. You say that pain’s a sign something wrong is going on and yet you also say that you enjoyed it?” his head tilted again, “Davis, you’re not making much sense.”

“Vee!” he let out, exasperated, “Yes! I enjoyed it alright!” he raised both of his hands a little, frustrated, “But there was still pain! That’s _not supposed to happen!”_ he sighed out strongly, “Discomfort, yes, but not _pain!_ And even then, the discomfort’s not supposed to last very long and definitely not into the next morning!”

“But I even made you slick and everything.” Veemon’s ears twitched, his expression narrow and frowning, “Fuck, I stuck my tongue inside of you, _and_ I put my cum in on my dick to help it go smoother. That’s about as good as it gets.” Veemon sat cross-legged, both hands on top of his ankles, still looking strongly at Davis.

“Jesus H. Buttfucking Christ _spit and cum are not good lube_!” Davis let out, his voice raised, and immediately afterwards, that narrow expression from Veemon turned angry, he raised one of his hands, poking at Davis’s chest, “Well what the fuck would _you_ know!?” he continued, his claw digging a little into his skin, “This was literally the first time anyone did _anything_ to your ass! There’s no goddamn way you’d know how it actually feels!”

“Vee, I’ve done anal before!” Davis retorted, his teeth bared, “And I can very much tell you pain is _not a part of the process!”_

“And as _someone that has actually gotten fucked in the ass before_.” He jabbed his claw again into Davis’s chest, “I CAN TELL YOU THAT _IT IS!”_

“ ** _YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!”_**

* * *

It came quickly, almost in a flash. I hadn’t even finished processing his scream when I felt the pain, strong and dull and searing at the top of my head. The sheer impact sent my head down into the bed. I could feel my jaw get pushed upwards and my teeth clack together, even through the softness of the mattress. A ringing in my head and that dull pain encompassing all of my senses. I instinctively cry out in pain, holding my head with both hands.

Davis just punched me.

_Davis just punched me upside the head._

“Hey!” I raise my voice, I look up to see that he’s not there anymore, and as I turn around, I can see him opening the door, “What the **_fuck_** Davis!” are the last words I can get out before Davis slams the door behind him.

What the hell is his problem?!

I push myself back up, sitting back onto the bed. I rub my head a little, feeling the exact spot he punched me on and wincing in response, “The fuck…” I can feel the tenderness of the spot, the dull, pulsing pain that it left me, “He enjoyed it… why is he mad?!” I can feel my ears ringing a bit, and the pain left in my teeth from when they clacked together, “I don’t get it…”

Seriously, I don’t _get_ the issue here! He _admits_ that he enjoyed it! And getting fucked _always_ has _some_ pain associated with it. Gods, I even went out of my way to make the whole process as easy and as slick as possible! He doesn’t know how it is to get fucked raw. Four lords I know. I still remember walking funny for a while. But that’s just how it _is!_ Waking up with some butthurt is a mercy compared to some of the shit I went through.

Ugh. And I don’t even get what he meant by _it wasn’t supposed to be like this_. He was obviously into it. He even told me to take the lead! I still remember him pressing his hips against me, he obviously wanted more! Damnit Davis. I don’t get it. And now he punches me upside the head and storms off! What the fuck!

I rub my eyes and grumble under my breath, that dull pain still pulsing, but starting to subside. I groan loudly and get off the bed. I can’t deal with this and I can’t keep thinking about this. It’s only going to make me feel worse off and terrible.

As I finish rubbing my eyes and walk up to the door and then I have to stand on my tiptoes again to pull on the handle, I bare my teeth as my grip slips twice before I can actually grab it properly and pull it open. Once I look outside, I can’t see Davis anywhere, and rather thankfully, I can’t see anyone _else_ anywhere.

I rub my face again, letting out another grunt, maybe I’ll find someone up early in the lobby. Get someone to talk to, to get my mind out of this shitty situation. I start walking through the carpet, seeing myself getting to the stairs before turning to the left and jumping up to call the elevator. I tap my foot on the ground as I wait for the damn thing to arrive, arms crossed, and when it does and it opens, I go in and press the button for the bottom floor, fortunately much closer to my height than anything else here.

As I tap my foot waiting for the doors to close, and then for it to reach the bottom floor, and then for it to stop, and then for the doors to open, I sigh. I walk out to the lobby, seeing the receptionist already there, ready for another day, and the bartender cleaning a cup or something. I look around the lobby area, and, rather thankfully, I can see three figures sitting down on one of the couches not far from the elevator.

I walk up to them, “Hey.” I let out, raising my hand in greeting. The three figures – Guilmon, Gomamon and Agumon – look at me for a second while I push myself up into a nearby comfy armchair. Guilmon blinks a few times before finally saying, “Okay, I’ve seen you down before, but I’ve never seen you _scowling_ before.” He starts, “What happened?”

I sigh profusely, “Nothing.” I answer, “Had a bit of a shitty morning.” I continue, and Guilmon raises an eyebrow, but then shakes his head. Both Gomamon and Agumon seem very perturbed. “What were you guys talking about?” I ask, just trying to get the conversation to _any_ other topic.

“Well uh…” Agumon starts, “We were just… talking about some of the stuff that happened yesterday.” I groan a little, which also seems to catch them off guard. “Like what?” I ask. Gomamon’s mouth turns into a very thin line, his eyes narrow towards me, but Guilmon is the one that continues to talk, “Oh, I was talking about how Takato was teaching me to swim.” He continues, he’s trying to put on a cheerier tone. It’s not really working. “It’s… uh… harder than I expected it to be.”

“You don’t seem like you were made for swimming.” I remark, and he shakes his head, “No, I really wasn’t.” he replies, “This body was made for fighting and sprinting, not swimming.” He smiles just a bit, “Still, I think I did a good job at it! I managed to float.” He continues.

“That’s good.” Gomamon replies, without turning to Guilmon, still looking at me. “If you can get yourself to float well, the rest becomes easier.” He continues, and Guilmon, giving him a sidelong glance, replies with a small “Yeah…”

I then turn to Agumon, “What about you Agu?” I ask, “Anything you were talking about?”

“Just the match yesterday.” He continues, and I inhale deeply, “Neither of them watched it, so I was recounting what happened.”

“Did you tell them the part where we lost?” I ask, and Agumon blinks a few times, “Uh, no, mostly because I’m pretty sure that Rena girl cheated somehow.” I narrow my eyes a little, I don’t think she cheated, and it feels a little annoying to have someone dismiss someone else’s abilities like that. “I was talking about how you guys were a very hard nut to crack, mostly.”

“What, because Raven cheated?” I ask, and he tilts his head, “I mean, they’re both from Omega. If Rena cheated, then he must’ve been cheating too.” I exhale a little strongly, “Don’t dismiss her skill because we couldn’t keep up.”

Agumon blinks a few times, and doesn’t respond. I shake my head, exhaling strongly, then, I turn to Gomamon. “What about you? Any pranks you pulled yesterday that you wanted to share?” I ask.

“Yes actually.” Gomamon replied, with that same narrowed expression, “I was just telling them about the time I told you that you’re being an ass and you need to calm down.” He tilts his head a little, “Oh, whoops, that’s right now.”

“The hell?” I ask, “I just came here to talk.”

“Yeah, and you’re being a grumpy, irritable ass right now.” Gomamon replies, “I don’t know what kind of bug bit you today, but you can’t just come here and dump it all on us like this. That’s not how it works.” He narrows his eyes, “What you need to do is go calm down, maybe take a nap, see how you feel later.” And then he inhales a little strongly, “And take a goddamn bath. You stink.”

I narrow my eyes at him, baring my teeth, “Fine.” I answer, and then I get up from my seat, “Have it your way.” I walk back out, puffing out a long sigh of anger. I get back into the elevator, and jump up trying to press the button to the third floor. I get it on the third try.

I lean my head against the cold metal of the elevator, tapping my foot as the door closes, I can feel my own claws dig into my scales with strength as I cross my arms, I can feel them scraping. I butt my head lightly against the wall multiple times, I close my eyes, and focus on my breathing, long, slow, deep breaths. But with every breath I take, I can hear my own breath get sharper, almost as I breathe through my teeth.

“Veemon?” I hear the voice come out, I look up, and see Rena as she comes down the stairs. The elevator already reached its destination, its doors already open for me to leave. I push myself against the wall slowly, “Hey.” I reply, walking out of the elevator. “You look terrible, are you okay?”

For fuck’s sake of course I’m--!

…

I had turned to her quickly and opened my mouth to speak. It’s fortunate then that my words hadn’t come out. I stop, dropping my stance and lowering my head a little. She’s got nothing to do with my anger. There’s no point in shouting at her. She doesn’t deserve this. “No.” I answer, after another long deep breath. Maybe Gomamon was right. Maybe I do just need to take a hot bath to calm down. And then a fucking nap. I just woke up and I already feel exhausted.

Rena nods slowly, her expression less upset and more just a little sad. “Sorry.” I mutter out lowly, before I turn back to my room, and start to walk again.

September 10th, 2025  
8AM, Eastern Standard Time

She had been sitting on her bed, quietly reading a book that she borrowed from Kari, when she heard the strong knocks on her door. She blinked twice, turning to the clock, which read exactly 8AM.

“Huh.” She let out, placing a bookmark on the page, putting it on the nightstand. She got up from the bed with some difficulty – her body really didn’t move as well as it once did – and she went for the door, just as the knocks got strong again.

She unlocked the door, and then pulled it open a little, revealing that frizzled hair and the white pajamas with little blue dots that she recognized so clearly. Davis was right in front of her, scowling at something. “Please tell me you got a beer in your fridge.” Her brother said, eyes narrow and angry.

“I do, yes.” She answered, taking a step back and opening the door the rest of the way, as Davis, still in his pajamas, walked in. He immediately went around her bed to the minifridge next to it, kneeling down and opening the door. She closed the bedroom door and locked it, before finally going back to the bed, sitting down on it, and looking towards her brother.

And Davis pulled a full beer bottle from the fridge, opening it quickly and immediately starting to drink from it. After a moment and a few gulps was when he finally closed the fridge’s door, and sat down on the bed. Jun, who had crossed her legs, rested her elbow on her knee and was resting her face on the palm of her hand, finally started, “Had a falling out with Vee?”

“That obvious, huh?” he asked, and she snorted a little, “Not even I can drive you to drink, Davis.” She continued, “I don’t even remember the last time I’ve seen you drink like this.” Davis exhaled strongly, “Don’t think I ever have.” He answered. She knew he was wrong; she’s seen him angry drink before. Although only once or twice, and certainly not on any occasion she could actually remember the details of.

Davis took another giant swig of the bottle, before sighing loudly again. Jun started to tap one of her fingers across her cheek. She was glad that she didn’t bother getting properly dressed yet, her pajamas were much more comfortable for a situation like this. “You wanna tell me what happened?” She was a little tempted to make a sarcastic quip at him, but she figured that poking the hornet’s nest wasn’t the wisest choice.

He sighed, “You already figured out stuff between Vee and I, yeah?” he asked, and she nodded, “I’m pretty sure you two are boyfriends now, yeah.” She’s seen more than a few lovestruck idiots in her time, she’s been one of them multiple times over her life. She knows the song and dance that goes on.

“Well, we fucked last night.” Davis continued, and she raised her eyebrow. Oh boy, it was going to be one of _these_ conversations, wasn’t it? She sighed loudly, but before she could interject, Davis continued, “And like, I let him fuck me.”

Okay, now _that’s_ not something she was expecting. Looks like he’s on the _opposite_ side of the conversation this time. “And… fuck.” He lets out, before he takes a quick swig of the bottle. It was already looking remarkably empty. She already knew she’d need to open up the windows to stop her room from smelling like a pissed drunk. “I enjoyed it, I _really_ did, but...” He rubs his face in frustration, “…but like, he _hurt_ me.”

She simply nodded, waiting for him to continue. “And he doesn’t even _realize_ he hurt me. He went too hard and he didn’t give me time to get ready and—” he groans, “and I wasn’t expecting him to do that at all!” he throws up his hands, and takes another swig. “I just wanted to stop at blowjobs for the night…” he lowers his head right after, exhaling strongly again.

“And I just… he was rough with me and he was like _‘that’s just how sex is!’”_ another groan, “As if I haven’t done anal on other people before.” He shook his head angrily, “Motherfucker…”

“Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?” she asked, raising her voice just a little bit, and Davis, despite his anger, let his head hang low, “Yeah…” he clicked his tongue in annoyance, “…Never thought I’d be on _this_ side of the situation.” He sighed, “…I guess what you told me really did end up sticking.”

“It better have, after it happened _twice_.” A part of her _still_ didn’t believe that she had to explain the basic idea of _being gentle_ to Davis when he was in his… rowdier youth. Especially when it came to anal. Gods, he really was kind of a mess when it came to this.

An uneasy silence hang in the air for a bit, marked only bit Davis’s groaning and occasional drinking. The bottle was mostly empty by now, her brother having drained the whole thing faster than was probably reasonable – and certainly faster than was healthy – but as she saw him grind his teeth, she sighed. “What are you going to do now?”

“I don’t fucking know!” Davis answered, raising his voice, “If he’s going to do this, can we even _stay_ boyfriends like this?!” he groans again. Jun was suddenly very glad that none of her windows were open and the rooms were soundproofed. “I don’t fucking know sis…” he let his head hang low again, holding it with both of his hands.

She knew very well that the first step for this situation to get fixed was for him to vent out his anger and frustrations. And then the next step was— “I’m going to talk to him.” He said, “I’m going to tell him exactly what—”

“No you fucking won’t.” She replied, grabbing him by the back of his shirt and holding it tightly. Davis lost his balance immediately, falling to the side, and as he did, she pulled on his shirt, making him fall on the bed harmlessly. The next step was making sure he didn’t do anything stupid. “Davis, you’re drunk. I’m not letting you make a decision like this while drunk.”

“Fuck you.” He replied, but she shook her head, taking the beer bottle that was still on his hand, him completely unable to stop her – he probably couldn’t even see her straight right now. He tried to get up again, but she pushed him back down, “You’re going to stay there, and you’re going to sleep off this drunkenness.” She replied, “And then you’re going to have the hangover of your goddamn life.”

He grumbled, and tried to get up a third time, being pushed back down just as quickly as before. With a groan of annoyance, Davis pulled on the blankets, cozying up to her bed and staying there, eyes closed.

She watched him for a few seconds, before grabbing her book again and going back to reading. She could feel him toss and turn a lot in the beginning, and she looked back a few times to make sure he wasn’t trying to get up, but he seemed obedient, at least right now. She looked back once per page she finished reading, sometimes a little more, and while the agitated Davis started off angry, he very quickly relaxed enough to go to sleep.

She sighed, putting the bookmark on the new page, and placing the book back on her bag, before finally grabbing her clothes for the day. Every few minutes, she glanced back at the now-unmoving Davis, and at the end, she could only shake her head and sigh, “You really are a moron.”

And yet, she did smile, “Wouldn’t have you any other way though.” She would never admit it to him, but she hoped that they could work out this situation. It was very hard not to notice the sheer difference between their demeanors before and after they started this. A part of her wondered why it didn’t happen _sooner_. These two idiots were quite literally made for each other, after all.

After she finished dressing for the day, and putting on what few accessories she had, she opened up windows and the balcony, but kept the curtains closed, before kneeling in front of the minifridge and grabbing a bottle of water she had kept there, placing it on the nightstand next to Davis, alongside a plastic cup for him to use. He’d need that when he woke up.

And then, she took her purse, left her bedroom, kept it unlocked, and went down the hall as she would have done if this was any other normal day. As much as she cared for her brother, she wasn’t about to let his situation ruin her day. She had a girls’ day out with Sora and they even managed to drag Ruki along. She’d have fun today, whether or not they got their shit together.


	10. Conviction

September 11th, 2025  
12:32PM, Eastern Standard Time

I press the button again, the television’s image flicks, another action flick, some dude in an afro gunning down twenty different guys in suits. I press the button again, some sort of animation about a dude trying to get out hell. I press the button again, and I’m treated to some weird decaying bear-like creature jumping at the screen in full volume as a terrified woman screams out. I grunt in annoyance.

Pulling the blankets a little closer to my body as I change the channel again from whatever low budget horror show that was, I see a man, clearly a news anchor, in a grey suit going to say something. I go to change the channel— “Construction at some of the new homeless shelters is interrupted as more corpses are found.”

I blink twice, my finger unable to truly press the button. “Seven out of the twelve homeless shelters being rebuilt in Oklahoma after their destruction during the digital massacre of five years ago have had to halt their construction schedule after more corpses have been found among the old debris.” The man continues, I can feel my brow furrowing, “In total, another forty-seven corpses have been found, marking a total of one hundred and thirty nine total that have been found since these reconstruction efforts started over a year ago.”

The man on the screen takes a small pause, I can see the exhaustion in his face, I can see his nostrils flare a little from his frustration, “Those working on the reconstruction efforts say that this will further the delay the projects, which are already several months behind schedule.”

_A burning pillar, the smell of ash reaching my nostrils from the collapsing buildings that seemed simultaneously so close and so far away._

“—another beloved local business is forced to close down—”

_The blades start to spin, the helicopter starts to ascend. We’re escaping. We’re leaving all these people behind to die. Tai’s voice sounds so distant._

“—trade relations between the US and Japan are still tense after five years ago—”

_When was the last time Jun consoled her younger brother? When was the last time I saw her shed a tear? When was the last time I saw Davis sobbing? When I saw both Kari and TK having to console each other like this? When I saw Tai so speechless?_

“—several emergency measures taken during the massacre are still in effect due to the country’s uncertainty, but some citizens are showing concerns over there being no plans for restarting elections in 2026 or 2028—”

_Wargreymon’s silhouette vanishes from view, and Seraphimon’s and Ophanimon’s pass us by. Will they be enough to keep the helicopter safe in this hell? I look to Davis’s broken digivice, and I can feel my eyes burn up as the tears start to escape._

“—several experts note that the old normal is going to be impossible to go back to, and we will need to find a new normal in these chaotic and uncertain times—”

_I couldn’t help._

The TV flicks to darkness as I finally feel myself press the off button. The silence left behind is like a gnawing void at the back of my mind. The remote control falls from my hand and onto the bed, and I have to lean forward to catch my breathing once again. I can feel the cold sweat running through my head and my back, my hand reaching for my chest as this dull pain runs through it.

I close my eyes strongly; I need to breathe. I need air. I need to calm down. In through the nose. Out through the mouth. Come on Veemon. You can do this. Shit. Why does this never get easier? Come on. Think of something.

_I think we both needed this. I love you, Vee._

My lips feel so dry. My throat feels so dry. I feel so parched. My eyes are burning so much. There’s this awful lump in the back of my throat, almost as if a hiccup wants to come, but it turns into an awful hacking cough. My chest hurts even more.

_I think I’m getting addicted to you._

I blink furiously to try and clear my vision, but there’s nothing but tears, nothing but blur in front of my eyes. I can’t see, even if I could open my eyes. My head starts to feel light. A dull pain comes to the back of my head.

_I… don’t want to hurt you._

I can feel the sharp pain on my arm, that dull pain growing again and again and again, I can’t breathe. I can’t—

**_YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!_ **

…

I blink. Again and again until the tears leave my eyes enough. Why is the world sideways? Why does it feel so soft? When did I lay down? I lift my right arm, my claws coming back red and bloodied, having been digging into my left arm, enough to break the scales. My breathing is still broken, that pain in my chest still there, even if weaker. That lump in the back of my throat breaking just a little with each sob I make. My entire face feels wet, yet my throat feels parched, my lips dry and crackly. There’s this dull pain in the back of my head, and as I lay back just slightly, I can feel it hitting the bedhead.

With what strength I have in my elbow, I push myself back up into a sitting position. I sob again, I can still feel the tears cascading down my face, my breathing impossible to get under control due to my sobbing. I raise my head, looking upwards, towards the ceiling. Breathing feels a little easier when I do that. The sobs not getting in the way as much. I close my eyes, reaching for my bloody arm, the sharp pain still very fresh.

_What did I do?_

“Vee, are you there?”

I look towards the door, although I have to push the tears out of my eyes before I can really see anything, a knock comes out after just another moment, “It’s Guilmon. Vee, are you there?”

Guilmon. He can help. I can talk to him. He can listen. He can help.

“Y-Yeah!” I let out, broken by a sob. “I-It’s open!” I sigh a little afterwards, still trying to get my breathing under control.

I can hear the door opening, and then closing shortly afterwards. I can feel the little steps coming and then – “Holy shit, Veemon.” His voice comes out, I blink twice, and he’s right next to me. His brow furrowed a little, concern plastered on his face, “Are you okay?”

I start to clean my tears again, with both of my hands, pushing them away from my face as best as I can. I shake my head as I do so, and I can feel the weight of the bed shift a little as he sits next to me. “What happened?” he asks.

“…Panic attack.” I reply, although even saying that feels like an understatement. I don’t think I’ve ever had a panic attack this bad before. “H-Hey… there should be some water in the fridge.” I let out, and before I can even finish my sentence, I can feel the weight shifting as he leaves the bed. Only moments later, as that dull pain in back of my mind finally starts to subside, and my breathing feels somewhat regular, can I open my eyes to see him holding the water bottle in front of me, with both paws.

I grab it, open it, and start drinking, a little fast at first, before I start pacing myself better, so I don’t choke on the water. The cold water running through my throat feels refreshing, satisfying, comforting even. I drink more and more of it, even as my body shudders a little from the cold. When I finally let out a sigh, removing the bottle from my mouth, I look at it to see I drank half of the thing in just these few seconds.

I take a deep breath, close the bottle again and give it back to him, and he places it on the nightstand next to him, before he sits back down next to me. He sits at a small distance away from me, within arm’s length, but not directly touching me. I take another deep breath, sitting cross legged at the side of the bed, and let my head hang low, “…Thanks, Guil.”

“No problem.” He answers, “Are you feeling better?” he leans forward a little, trying to get a better look at my face. I shake my head, but I close my eyes. “…Well, I’m not panicking anymore.” I snort a little, his expression doesn’t change.

I sigh, turning my head upwards, looking again at the ceiling. My eyes are still burning, but at least now I can breathe. There’s still a warmness in my arm, but I don’t feel the blood dripping down anymore. I put both of my hands together, fiddling with them, as I continue to try and keep myself calm.

But I can feel something across my back, I turn to Guilmon, and he’s placed an arm around me, a soft smile on his face. He pulls on me just a little, “You look like you need a cuddlebuddy.” He never pulls me very strongly, his tail just softly touching mine, and yet running through it in a way that helps me calm down a bit more.

I nod towards him, and he pulls on me a little harder, laying down on the bed and taking me with him. We both lay on our sides, my head placed on his chest as he hugs me with one arm as best as his form allows. I raise my head just a little, nuzzle the bottom of his muzzle, and close my eyes. His body feels warmer than normal, it helps me relax a bit more, it feels good.

He caresses my back just a little bit, careful with his claws and the spikes on my back. I can feel my tail making small movements behind me, and I can feel his chest push a little into me whenever he breathes. Even despite all of this, he’s staying quiet. He’s not asking me questions or trying to do any more than what I let him. I only remember him doing this once before. It was right after—

_Veemon, move!_

I can feel his grip tighten a little, I can feel his chest pressing against me a little harder – I can feel myself pressing a little harder against his chest. My breathing having gotten out of control again. I take a few deep breaths, and just like before, his grip slackens, as he lets me calm down once again.

“…Thanks for this, Guil.” I let out, in a small voice, and he holds me a bit tighter in response, “It’s what friends do.” He replies, lowering his head a bit more.

…Yeah. It’s what friends do.

“Hey, Guil?” I ask, and pull back a little from his chest. He pulls back as well, looking me in the eyes, a small inquisitive “hm?” leaving his throat, “…I’m sorry for earlier.” I let out, “I was being a dick to you three. You guys didn’t deserve that.”

He shakes his head, “We were all just worried about you.” He smiles a little, “Gomamon even wanted to apologize, he thought he was a too harsh on you.”

I smile back, “…He shouldn’t. I think I needed someone to do that.” I reply, and he exhales a little strongly, still smiling, but then blinks a few times, pursing his lips a little, “…Do you want to talk about what happened?” he asks.

I lower my gaze, back to his chest. “…I don’t know, Guil.” I reply, “Yesterday evening, Davis and I had sex.” He posture doesn’t change when hearing this, he doesn’t look surprised. “And this morning he woke up and… and…” I take a deep breath again, although I can already feel my breath breaking again, “…and he was… upset with something.” I lick my lips, already feeling them start to dry again. “He said he enjoyed it but… but that I went… too far?”

I look up to him, and I see that his head is a little tilted, a single eyebrow raised, and after a moment, he sighs, “…Did you fuck him?” he asks, his expression a little sad and concerned. Slowly, I nod in response, and he sighs to me.

There is a long period of silence before he continues, “It was the first time the two of you did anything sexual together, right?” he asks, and I look a little to the side, “…There was a moment in the bathtub where we were going to but…” I lick my lips again, “…we got interrupted by the bellboy before anything really happened.”

He nods very lightly a few times, another sigh escaping his lips, “Vee…” he lets out, not out of disappointment or annoyance, but out of… regret? “Digimon and Humans aren’t… the same when it comes to this.” He blinks a few times, and then sighs again, “…I’m sorry, this is something I should’ve told you earlier.”

I shake my head, wordlessly, before I look back to him, waiting for him to continue. I can see him click his tongue, turning his head to the side, the little movements of his mouth as he tries to find the right words – “This isn’t universal for humans but… well, I guess it would be for Davis. You’re the first guy he’s been with, right?”

“That… matters?” I ask, blinking, “I thought he was just getting hung up on weird stuff.” I shift my gaze again to the ceiling, and Guilmon lets out a tiny, sad chuckle. “…Yeah, I kind of thought so too at first with Takato.” He continues. “Turns out, being into both guys and girls isn’t…” he stops for a moment, as if he was trying to find the correct word, “…well, it isn’t as widespread for humans as it is for us.”

I blink a few times, and then sigh, “I mean… I always knew that humans had a weird hang up about this but…” I stop, placing my head back on his chest, “…it’s that big of a deal?”

“Well, not quite.” He continues, “It took a while for Takato to fully explain this to me but… it’s about having a comfort zone.” A pause, “And for Davis, I imagine that the idea of sex with guys was way outside of his.” I look back up and my expression drops a little, “…He’s not comfortable around me?” the question comes before I can really think about it, there’s a sense of dread in my stomach even as my logical brain tries its best to tell me that that’s wrong.

But Guilmon sighs, “…Vee, it’s not really about _you_.” He continues, “But I can tell you that I don’t think Davis would have even considered the idea if it wasn’t with you.” He smiles just a bit, “…He trusts you. He’s comfortable around you. That’s why it even happened in the first place.”

I can almost hear my logical brain let out a massive _Thank you!_ in response. That small lump of dread in my stomach turns into a sigh of relief as I close my eyes and press my head against him again. “But if it’s not about me… then what is it about?”

“Him, really.” Guilmon lets out, “Him and his comfort zone.” He sighs. I look back up to him with my eyes just a little narrow, confused, and he takes a deep breath, “Well, Vee, I’m sure you’ve done things before that you found to be very uncomfortable, right?” he stops for a moment, “…Like, I don’t know, when you first started using military lingo for comms? I remember you were very uncomfortable with that.”

I nod a little, letting him continue, “But then the more you used it, the less difficult it became, the more naturally it came to you.” he stops for a moment, “You don’t _like_ using it, but it doesn’t feel as uncomfortable anymore, does it? It’s just a part of your everyday life now.”

I nod again, “It’s the same idea, really.” He starts again, “The idea of being with a guy was uncomfortable for Davis, but he trusted you enough to give it a try.” a pause, “But the issue is that you overwhelmed him.” I raise my eyebrow, and he takes another moment to continue, “He… probably wanted to do something light with you, but you went all the way.”

“But he told me he was scared he’d hurt me.” I continue, my voice a little weak, “He told me to take the lead, I thought—” I blink a few times as I can see his face turn into a bit of a grimace that he tries to mask with a smile, “…The fact that he didn’t want to hurt you can mean a few different things, can’t it?”

I blink a few more times, “…But he said he liked it…” my voice is practically a whimper now, and Guilmon smiles a little more sadly, “But you still pushed him way out of his comfort zone.” He continues, and I can see him purse his lips before licking them a bit, “…Tell me Vee, was he upset at you right as you woke up?” he asks.

I lower my head again, pressing against his chest as I close my eyes. “…Not… really…” a pause, “He… said he liked it, then he said he wasn’t expecting us to go that far and…” a small lump catches in my throat, I exhale strongly, “…then he told me I hurt him, and he enjoyed it despite the pain.”

Guilmon pulls back a little, and I turn up to see him blinking a few times in surprise, “…Did you use lube?” the question carried a level of trepidation I don’t think I’ve ever heard from him, I pull back a little more, I gulp down strongly, “Uhh…” I blink a few times, “…spit and cum?”

He exhales sharply, finally sounding annoyed at me, “…Really Vee?” it was the most disappointed and annoyed tone I’ve ever heard from him. “ _Really?_ ”

I blink again, “That’s the exact same thing _you_ did when we had sex!” I bark out, my voice higher than before, and Guilmon groans. Even with his eyes closed, I can almost see them rolling, “You literally told me it was fine beforehand, dude. _Multiple_ times.” He continues, his eyes narrowing a little, “And you can take punishment better than a beginner can.” He closes his eyes strongly, “…But that’s beside the point.”

I narrow my eyes a little, and he sighs again, “…I’m sorry for getting annoyed.” He continues, “It’s just… man, humanity made an entire industry of stuff just for this.” He exhales a little strongly again, “Just… there’s a reason for that, y’know?” for the first time in a very long while, I can see Guilmon rubbing his own face with his other hand, in exasperation.

“Still…” he sighs again, “I think you should just go to him and apologize. You two need to talk about this.” My mouth turns into a thin line as he talks, “…I’m sorry, I wish I had better advice to give out.”

I shake my head, “It’s… fine.” This is definitely not what I wanted to hear, but if I hurt Davis then… Then that’s what I have to do. That’s what I have to do. Even if it makes no goddamn sense to me. He enjoyed it. He admits that he enjoyed it. Why is the rest of this so—

“Vee.” I blink, and he’s looking directly at me, “…You’re having some awful thoughts, aren’t you? You’re scowling.” despite his words, he looks concerned. I sigh again, “…Yeah, I kind of was.” I smile just a bit, “…I’m surprised you can always figure out what I’m thinking. Am I that easy to read?”

He smiles again, “Just practice, really.” He raises his other paw, resting his head on it, raised from the pillow, still hugging me. “Practice and a little bit of empathy.”

I push away from him a little, sitting down on the bed and rubbing my eyes, “…Thanks for the talk, Guil.” My body still feels a little tense, even as I continue to take deep breaths, “It’s good that you have my back.” I smile, and I feel the weight of the bed shift as he sits down too.

“Again, it’s what friends are for.” He replies, leaning forward a little, “…What are you going to do now?”

“I… don’t think I can talk to Davis just yet.” I reply, “I’m still… still having some awful thoughts about the whole thing.” Even if they feel like _correct_ thoughts. “I think I’ll spend some time in HQ, go to the gym, take out my frustration on a sandbag or something.” I raise my head a little, blinking to clear my vision, “And then, only after this frustration is gone, I’m going to talk to Davis.”

“That sounds good.” He smiles, “You wouldn’t want to say something you’ll regret.”

I close my eyes, and take a very deep breath, “Yeah…” I get out of the bed, moving to Davis’s bag and going for one of the side pouches, where I left my smartphone. It takes a bit of fiddling, and checking three different pouches, but I find it. A part of me is glad I took it with me, and another part of me is glad that you can enter the Digital World through any normal internet connection.

“Vee?” Guilmon says as I raise my head, my communicator in hand. I raise my eyebrow, and he gives me a mischievous smirk as he lowers his voice just a bit, “I still want another go at your ass, by the way.”

_Snrk—_

I smile back at him as I start chuckling under my breath, I blink once, twice, and after a breath – still chuckling – I answer him, “Don’t worry buddy.” I raise my communicator just a tad, and somehow, my body feels a lot lighter, “The feeling’s mutual.”

September 11th, 2025  
1:14PM, Eastern Standard Time

 _Fuck_.

He felt the pain even before he opened his eyes, his head was pounding. He blinked a few times, his vision blurry, that pounding making it hard for him to think. His body felt like a sack of lead, his head felt like it was being constantly hammered by an anvil. He licked his own lips as he let out a breath, his throat was so dry.

Oh god. He was having a hangover.

He let his head fall limply back on the pillow, his eyes still closed. He was suddenly very glad for the silence of the room he was in. Gods, when was the last time he had a hangover like this? He didn’t even remember the last time he drank more than a glass. How much did he _drink_?

He took deep breaths, opening his eyes a little, glad for the merciful darkness of the room, with only the faintest wash of sunlight streaking in. As he turned upwards a little, he could see the bottle of water on the nightstand, closed and full. It had been there for a while, he thought. The nightstand looked wet under it. Was he imagining it?

Head still pounding, he pushed himself to sit down, going lightheaded as his stomach protested loudly as to what he was doing. His hand reached down to his belly in reaction, even as the nausea hit him like a sack of bricks. This is why he didn’t fucking drink.

He reached with his other hand limply to the bottle, somehow able to grab it without knocking it over and to the ground, and bringing it to his lap as he desperately tried to keep his own stomach from depositing what few contents it had out on the bed. Of course he just had to drink this much on an empty stomach.

Even as his throat burned, he slowly tried to open the bottle, failing to get a solid grip the first four or so tries before opening it and starting to drink from it. A part of him was sure, at first, that his stomach would reject the fluids and make a mess right then and there, but the bile in his stomach decided to spare him that fate, at least for the moment.

The moment the pounding in his head subsided a bit, he started to scour his memories of what happened. The remembered waking up and taking a hot shower, cleaning himself after last night and—

…Right. He hit Veemon.

Guilt started to swell in his chest almost worse than the pain in the rest of his body, almost worse than the nausea. Even if what he said felt right, hitting Veemon felt like too much, even if his anger was justified, it was too much.

He let out a sigh, had he fucked it all up? Was Veemon going to be angry at him for a long time now? Would they have to give each other the silent treatment when they next saw each other? The mere thought felt terrible. Even remembering time as recent as two weeks ago, he still remembered how miserable he felt when Veemon wasn’t around, how much his mood improved when he was, how much better things were.

He took a deep breath; he didn’t want to go back to that. Having Veemon around had always made him feel better, it had always made him feel more comfortable. It always made things seem easier, because he had the little guy to rely on. When he was around, he could smile easily. And when he wasn’t…

…when he wasn’t, he was tired. Exhausted. With too little energy to do anything because the world had lost all color. Too tired to feel emotions other than exhaustion. Too busy stuck in his own head to move forward.

Yet now? He had managed to reconnect with Tai and the others. With any luck, he’d be working with Takato. He’d have at least one other consistent friend, and he could take the extra labor necessary to go meet the others. He’d have friends again. Proper friends. Gods, doing all of this before felt all so impossible, so tiring. Even sending a message felt exhausting. Why did the thought now feel so easy to him?

He went to take another gulp from the water bottle, but found it empty. He didn’t even notice that he had been taking sips this entire time. How long had he been awake for? The pounding had now turned into a tiny, dull, pulsing pain at the back of his head, his lightheadedness was gone, and his stomach felt like it had mostly settled. He blinked a few times, finding it easier to keep his eyes open now, even as he had to rub the sleep from his eyes.

He went to get up, but it was in that moment that he heard the small creaking of the door opening. He turned to his right, fully expecting to see the red hair that his sister insisted on keeping, and yet shortly after he heard the door closing, what he saw was not his sister, but another woman entirely.

He saw a black hair, probably very long, tied in a single big bun at the side of her head, pressed together with one big, white-and-gold hairpin. She wore a blue dress with what looked to be dark flower patterns in what was probably a Chinese style, and wore dark colored shoes on. Her green eyes looked at him, looking a bit surprised, “Oh, I thought you’d be asleep.”

He blinked a few times, “Who… are you?” he didn’t remember ever seeing her in his life, which probably meant— “Ah, how rude of me.” She smiled, “I’m Ara Haan, one of the members of Omega, and you’re Davis, yes?”

He nodded slowly, but as he would vocalize his next question – “Elsword called your phone a few times to see if you were free to go out with us for a while, but you didn’t answer.” A short pause, “Rena went to check your room, but you weren’t there, so we called your sister to see if she knew where you were.” He smiled a bit wider, “She told us you were in her room, either asleep or hungover, so she asked us to check up on you.” she separated her hands a little, “So here I am.”

He nodded again, turning away from her for a moment, looking towards the covered windows, “Right, I did mention wanting to go out.” He pursed his lips, and took a very deep breath. He even has new friends now, or at least, friends that he could make. The situation looks so much different than it was two weeks ago.

“Are you okay?” She asked, taking a few steps into his field of vision, “Do you need something?” her expression was of genuine concern, although she maintained a respectable distance from him. As he looked at her, he could see the smile and the gentleness in her, the gentleness in her movements, the grace with which she walked. He might just be imagining half of these things. Maybe the pulsing at the back of his head was still affecting his judgement. But for just a second, he looked towards the short corridor leading to the door, “…Do you have a moment?” he asked.

She nodded, “They aren’t going to leave without me, no.” she said, and then, looking at her almost sheepishly, “Could you… could you listen to me for a bit?” he needed to talk to someone, anyone, and she was right here already. She nodded, before sitting down on an armchair next to the wall, “I can listen.” Her hands placed on her lap, patiently and respectfully. She smiled at him, waiting for him to start.

And yet, in the dim light of the room, he still couldn’t look at her directly, not while talking, “…For the last two years – gods, maybe it’s been even longer at this point – I’ve had this… void in my life.” He took a deep breath, “It’s this void of… purpose. Void of wanting to actually do anything. My life has been mostly ‘get up, go to work, get back home and sleep’.” He let his hand hang low, closing his eyes, “…And in the few days I had off, I found myself doing nothing. Sometimes I’d try to exercise just to pass the time. Sometimes I’d watch TV. Sometimes I’d play games alone. It took me a while to realize that I wasn’t enjoying any of it. I was just… trying to get to the next day.”

“Life had become colorless, and I felt like I got stuck in place. Hanging out with the others was too difficult because of schedules and distance and…” he gulped down hard, “…and eventually just sending them messages became too much effort. I was so incredibly tired all the time.” He didn’t know why it was so easy to talk about this with a complete stranger. He didn’t know why he was even doing this in the first place. The words just kept coming out.

“The few times I found myself smiling, the few times I found myself having _fun_ was… when Veemon was around.” He blinked again, “…And then I realized I was spending each day just spending time until the next moment we could spend together. A lazy morning, a comfortable evening.” A tiny, sad smile crept to his face. “…A week ago the two of us became boyfriends.” Gods, it felt so easy to say too, “And everything looked a bit happier for me, a bit… a bit better. I felt like I could breathe again. I didn’t feel completely exhausted anymore. I felt like… like I could move again.”

He let out a sad sigh, his hands fiddling together, “…But now that I can move forward, I’ve sort of realized that I… I’m scared.” His lips turned into a thin line, “…I’ve managed to reconnect with the rest of the group, everyone’s welcomed me back with no questions asked. I’ve even…” he let out a “heh”, “…I’ve even started making new friends.” He turned to Ara with both eyebrows raised, she was still patiently listened, and nodded once in his direction. “The world… doesn’t seem as colorless anymore.”

“And… a part of that scares me.” He licked his lips, gulping down on his own saliva in trepidation, “…I realized how quickly I’ve become attached to Veemon as a _boyfriend_. How much I depended on him and how much things changed whenever he was around.” He blinked a few times, he wasn’t so much talking to her as to himself at this point, words to make sense of his own emotions. “I… don’t want to go back to that colorless world. But at the same time, there’s a part of me that thinks that… that I don’t _need_ Veemon to keep that color anymore.”

He let out a breath, head hanging low, “…I’m not sure if this relationship is healthy.” he closed his eyes, “…But I don’t want to break his heart.”

He let the silence hang a little in the air, it was a difficult thing to think, that despite all of the support and all of the things they had for each other, that it might still not be a healthy relationship. Were they getting closer because of trauma? Were they doing this because they needed _someone_ , never mind _who_? He’d had that kind of relationship before. Those ended with a lot of broken feelings and very, very harsh words. He didn’t want that with Veemon. He wanted to stay with Veemon. He wanted to stay as partners, as friends, close, inseparable. He didn’t want to break what they had.

“Well…” the words came before he could delve deeper into his thoughts, he turned to her, and he saw her moving her hands a little across her lap, fidgeting, “…I’m not sure if I’m the best person to give advice, or even if you want advice.” She started, but Davis nodded towards her, and she took a deep breath, looking to him with a gentle smile, “…but I think you’re getting a little caught up on labels.”

He blinked a few times, but she continued, “Davis, would you say that you trust Veemon with your life?” she asked, and he nodded, slowly, “And – even outside of the romantic aspect – would you say that you love him? As a friend, a partner, as someone that you want to be with?” again, he nodded slowly, and she took another deep breath.

“Then… what I think is that the rest doesn’t really matter.” She continued, “You don’t need to be boyfriends to stay close, and you don’t need to be boyfriends to be happy together.” She licked her lips, raising her hand to them slightly, looking for the correct words, “Whether the two of you stay as boyfriends or not, if you enjoy being with Veemon, if his relationship with you brings a little more color to your world – even if it’s not the sole source of it anymore – then… I think that’s enough.” She smiled, a little sadly, “…I apologize if I’m not getting my point across very well, I’m not very good at this.”

“No, no…” he replies, shaking his head weakly, what she said didn’t feel wrong. He had been happy with Veemon by his side even when they were just friends and partners, it was true that they didn’t need to be boyfriends to be happy together. It was true.

And yet, when he thought of the idea of not being able to kiss Veemon anymore, of not being able to share those little tender moments with no filters, even that little moment in the bathtub or the time in the showers at the club, he felt a sadness well up in his chest. Even the idea of sex with Veemon didn’t feel terrible to him – if only Veemon learned to do things correctly, the idea sounded… pleasant. Happy, even.

He didn’t want to give up all of that. Now that he had a taste for it, he didn’t want to give it up.

“And umm…” he raised his head again, but she didn’t meet his gaze. Was she embarrassed? “If there are a few things that you enjoy doing with Veemon… they don’t need to go away even if the two of you aren’t boyfriends anymore.” She continued, scratching her cheek awkwardly, “I mean… friends with benefits are a thing that exists.” She chuckled slightly, again, very awkwardly, still not meeting his gaze.

And with a smile, he answered, “…I suppose they do.” He let his head hang low again. Maybe she was right. Maybe things didn’t need to change at all. Maybe he could keep all of these things. He just needed to sort thing out with Veemon. He just needed to talk to him.

It wasn’t going to be easy. Gods knew, Veemon was stubborn when he wanted to be. He’d need to brace himself and take some very deep breaths to make sure he didn’t hit the blue dragon again. But… it was doable. And even if not, he’d make it doable.

He smiled a little more, to himself this time, and it was like a big weight had lifted from his shoulders. He didn’t realize all the tension in his body, like how hard he was clenching his jaw. He sighed a little happily, but he also felt a little sleepy all of a sudden. He suddenly felt very, very tired, in that way you get after a long day of exhausting, boring work that you couldn’t focus on anymore.

“Thanks…” he said, a little low, and he could hear the smile in her voice, “No problem.” She continued, a sigh escaping her lips in what seemed like relief. “I’m happy to help.”

She got up from the armchair, “Are you feeling better?” she asked, and he nodded a little, “Much better, thanks.” Then, a yawn came over him, gods, why was he so sleepy again all of a sudden? “…But I think I need a nap.” And then, his stomach very loudly growled, “…And a meal.” He laughed under his breath.

She giggled into her hand, “I’ll call up room service for you, try not to fall asleep before it gets here.” She continued, “But I need to go now, Elsword and Rena are waiting for me.”

Davis nodded, “Yeah, I’ll hang with you guys some other day. Thanks Ara.” He replied, and she joined both hands and bowed respectfully, “Have a good day, Davis.”

September 11th, 2025  
1:37PM, Eastern Standard Time

I throw another three punches, the satisfying _thump thump thump_ hitting my ears as the sandbag is pushed back slightly, before swaying back into its original position. I take another deep breath, and punch it again, feeling the resistance and the weight as I press my fist against it. It’s pushed back a little harder this time, and I take a step to the side in response.

I remember finding this therapeutic, hitting an object with enough hardness to not break and enough give to actually feel like I’m hitting something. It used to be so good for clearing my mind. But even as I feel the sweat running through my brow, my strong exhale as I try to keep my breathing steady, I haven’t been able to clear my mind at all.

A phantom pain in the back of my skull flares up again, and I grit my teeth in response as I throw another punch. I hate this. Gods I hate this. Remembering that moment just makes me irritated again, even when I’m able to calm down. I can feel my fists digging deeper into the bag, the pushback stronger, having to keep on my feet to make sure it doesn’t hit me in the face on the way back. Things seemed so good yesterday, when we were talking and having fun, when he was caressing my head and playing with my ears, when we were kissing and—

And then I hurt him.

The noise that the chain makes startles me out of my thought, I have to take a huge step to the side to dodge the backswing, panting heavily at my surprise. I think that’s the part that makes me the angriest of it all. _I_ hurt _him_. Davis wouldn’t hit me as he did if he weren’t genuinely upset with me, and he wouldn’t be like that if I didn’t hurt him. There’s that part of me that doesn’t understand _why_ he’s feeling hurt, but it doesn’t fucking matter. Even if by some magical way that part is right and he’s completely wrong, I still made him feel hurt.

And even as I get back into position and start practicing again, I can still remember that moment when I thought _he wants this_ , that moment when I let myself go, when I just started doing what felt natural, without pausing for a single moment to think. Did I even hesitate when that _need_ came to me? When I realized that I wasn’t satisfied at all? I… I don’t think I did. I think I just… acted on instinct.

Did I need it that badly? That I was willing to just… not consider him? I remember being annoyed that he was trying to keep his noises down. I remember going harder on him the closer I got to an orgasm, I remember so many little details… Four lords, when did I become so selfish? So self-centered like this?

When did I start focusing on _nothing_ but my own needs?

“Vee?”

The voice startles me as I turn around, turning my last punch into a glancing blow on my fake sparring partner. I’m fortunate the backswing isn’t strong enough that I really need to bother dodging it. As I look upon the entrance to HQ’s gym, I see that same white fur and yellow gloves I’ve seen so many times before, “What are you doing here?” Gatomon asks, her tail swishing behind her, a look of confusion and curiosity on her face.

I shake my head, turning back to the sandbag, “…Felt like getting some exercise.” My voice is low, my response curt. I don’t see her face, but I can almost imagine her frowning. “What are you doing here?”

“I got a message that someone activated one of the checkpoints, then I found you here.” She responds, her voice closer, a little off to the side. “Are you okay?” she asks, and in the way her voice moves, I she probably sat down at the nearby bench.

I don’t respond her though, I keep swinging at the bag, again, trying to get some enjoyment or peace out of each blow hitting it, doing my best to clear my mind, a process that becomes impossible whenever I remember her presence. “Y’know…” she starts, and I exhale a little strongly, more annoyed at this than I probably should be. “I wanted to apologize.”

“For what?”

Her response takes a moment, “I know you said I didn’t need to but…” she sighs, “I wanted to apologize for the way I treated you and the others for the last few years.” A pause, “…But especially you.”

The sandbag sways a little harder as I place another three quick punches, weaving to the side afterwards, “I know this isn’t a justification but… I think after that day, after…” a pause as I place another two quick jabs and a cross on it. “…after we abandoned the city, things… changed a lot.” One, one, two. One, one, two. “…That was the same for you, right?”

“Yeah.” I reply, taking a small moment to breathe, “The difference is, you could help.” I can feel my teeth gritting again, my jaw clenching strongly. Focus on the sandbag, Veemon. One, one, two. _One, one, two._ “…Yeah.” She replies, “You’re right… I could help.” Another heavy pause, “…And so I did.”

“I tried so hard to make sure none of that happened again, I tried so hard to undo things to—to fix things.” To make things as they were. Before this goddamned war. “So people wouldn’t die senselessly anymore… so we could have peace again…” So people could smile again. So the world would have some color once more.

“And… and I got so focused on that feeling…” So focused on yourself, so focused on what is in front of you. “That I forgot everything that was important… I forgot everyone I cared about…” The things that made you smile. The things that made you cry. The things that made you want to live.

“And I… I just wanted to say I’m sorry. I wanted things to be as they were—” As they were. “—so badly that I… I became someone else. Someone I didn’t want to be again.” Someone that you’re not. Acting in ways that you don’t want. Hurting people that care about you. “So I… I wanted to apologize. I’ll be the same Gatomon you knew back then from now on. I think it will be better for everyone.” Better if things were the same as before all of this. Before the pain and the regret and the trauma. Before the everything changed. “So… I know you didn’t want me to say it but—but I’m sorry.”

…

The sound of the chains echoes loudly throughout the gym, the bag swaying heavily enough that it hits me on the way back, even as I cover my arms, even as I take a step back to catch my balance. It doesn’t hurt – although I don’t think I can feel much hurt right now – and it settles back on its position quickly enough. “Vee?” she asks, startled, and I clench my fists and grit my teeth in pain, letting out a sharp breath.

“It’s fine…” I reply, another sharp breath, “…it’s not you I’m angry at.” None of this – none of this would have happened if it weren’t for this gods forsaken war. None of this would have happened if Gatomon didn’t need to work and do what she felt was necessary to _rebuild the goddamned world_. None of this would have happened if I wasn’t forced into a life of monotony and melancholy and sadness. None of this would have happened if Davis wasn’t stuck in a rut for years. None of this. _None of this._

I take in another sharp breath, and let out, coldly, “…Can you please leave me be?” I ask her, and I can feel her steps as she walks towards the door again, muttering a small “I’m sorry…” as she passes behind me. The metal door closing echoes throughout the room, leaving me once again, alone with my thoughts.

I look once again to the sandbag, seeing the marks my fists have left on it. This place wouldn’t be necessary. This situation wouldn’t be necessary. None of this would be necessary. Not if things were just as they used to be.

I know what I have to do.


	11. Miracle

September 11th, 2025  
6:47PM, Eastern Standard Time

He knocked on the door twice, then leaned on the wall next to him. He ran his hand through his hair, taking a deep breath to calm down his nerves. He could feel that hand trembling a bit, it was going to be a difficult conversation, but a necessary one. He hoped Veemon would listen.

He was glad that Jun had stopped him from doing this earlier, glad that he didn’t come here a raging drunk – and he was glad that he got some proper sleep and a meal. He was in the best mental state he could possibly be to handle this situation.

Granted, in the back of his mind, he was screaming a very long, very terrified scream. He still didn’t remember the last time he felt this anxious about something. Or the last thing that led him to drink that much. The taste still clung a little to his mouth if he thought about it, fuck it wasn’t even _good_ beer. He would quietly hope it wasn’t something that Jun actually picked for herself, cause otherwise his sister had some _shit taste_ in alcohol.

What had Veemon been doing all day? Probably watching TV or something. It’s not like he could go out on his own. Man, it must’ve been monotonous. Maybe he went to talk to someone? Guilmon, probably, if he’s feeling as conflicted about this as he was. A part of him decided to not dwell on the possibility that Veemon could just… not be as affected by this as he was. It didn’t lead him to good places.

It was around this moment that he realized he had been waiting for a while, with no answer. He knocked twice on the door again, “Vee?” he asked, and again, found himself with no answer. His right hand reached for the handle, and in a small moment of trepidation, found it unlocked.

As he gingerly stepped into the room, he saw the billowing curtains against the open windows, the chill going through his body and down his spine. The lights were off, making the whole place darker than was convenient, and as he reached for the light switch and flicked it on, he saw the whole room in a state of normalcy.

He still saw that same table with the comfortable chair below the window, the same balcony overlooking the ocean, that same TV and the nightstands and the minifridge, the only thing, he supposed, was the unmade bed, although that wasn’t abnormal – neither he nor Veemon were particularly good about keeping the bed tidy.

The door to the bathroom was open, and a quick glance around it found nothing, even in that walk-in closet – that massive thing that seemed so incredibly extra – had no traces of the little blue dragon. “Vee?” even as he called his name again, he found no response, none other than the howling of the cold wind.

He took a deep breath. He was probably just in someone else’s room, or in the lounge. There’s no reason for that rising anxiety in his chest. That lingering dreg of trepidation and fear in the back of his mind. There is no logical justification for it.

He took the time to close the windows and the glass doors to the balcony, before double checking that the door was closed, and undressing. He was still in his pajamas, and it was already almost 7PM. If he was going to look around for Vee, he’d at least bother to get dressed first, even if he’d probably go back to those things in just a few hours.

He was probably talking to Guilmon or Agumon anyway. Maybe to Gatomon, see how she was doing. Possibly to Hawkmon and Armadillomon? He did mention wanting to talk to them a bit. Could be with Wormmon, these two haven’t gotten time to talk yet. He could be anywhere in this building, there were almost fifty rooms here. And he could also be in the lounge. There was no reason to get worked up at all.

He took a deep breath, nope. No reason to get worked up. No reason at all.

He finished tying his shoelaces and got up from the bed, allowing himself a moment to stretch and feel the satisfying cracks run along his back. He turned off the lights as he walked out, closing the door behind him, and walking along the corridor in direction of the lounge. With the situation as it was, it felt like a lifetime away since him and Veemon were racing stupidly across these same stairs, as he tried his best to win against a Digimon that was, apparently, a much better jumper than he was a runner.

A smile crept back on his face, man, that was literally just two days ago, and he was already reminiscing like that? He was blowing this way out of proportion. Things would be fine if he just talked to Veemon frankly and fairly. He chuckled under his breath as he raised his head. This was no life-or-death scenario. Things would be okay. He needed to stop treating this as if he was still just a teenager.

Still, if he had the energy to treat this in such an important way, then maybe that really was a sign that things were going to get better. Certainly better than they had been for the last two years, at any rate.

He blinked a few times as he saw the lounge come into view, he barely noticed going down the stairs. Gods, was he getting stuck in his head that badly?

He looked around, seeing the two groups of people in separate sections of the lounge. The first, farther back and closer to the entrance, he could recognize Elsword and Eve, as well as that Ara girl from earlier. Alongside them, he saw Rena, that girl that could run on the walls yesterday. The four of them were having a pleasant conversation, it seemed, although he also noticed that weird maid sitting quietly next to Eve. The fact that she stood so perfectly still was still unsettling to him.

But not far from the stairs he was now getting to the bottom of – “Hey, Davis!” he heard Tai’s voice, and as he looked towards the man, he could see not just him and Agumon, but Kari, Matt, TK and Takato as well as their respective Digimon sitting on that little cluster of couches, some on their partner’s laps, some on the ground. “What’s up?” the leader of the first generation asked, with a smile.

“Oh, not much.” He replied with a tiny smile, almost immediately. Takato patted the seat next to him, as Guilmon was, apparently, in his in-training form, cuddling up to his partner in his lap. “Come sit with us, then. We were just talking about whatever.”

“Well, we were talking about how you guys lost yesterday.” Tai smiled, and Takato replied with a sigh, “Actually, I’m pretty sure we moved _away_ from that topic.”

“We did, but now Davis is here.” Tai grinned, and her sister sighed with a smile on her face. Davis shook his head a little, “I remember breaking your defense multiple times, buddy.” And Tai raised an eyebrow, and his grin only grew wider, “I remember Veemon doing most of the work in that.”

Davis laughed in response to the comment, and everyone broke into loud laughter at the exchanged barbs, still, as his laughter calmed down, he did look over the group for a bit, “Speaking of him.” He started, “I’ve been looking for him for a while, do any of you guys know where he is?”

Matt raised an eyebrow, “He’s not in your room?” he asked, and Davis shook his head, “I haven’t seen him all day.” Matt turned to Gabumon, at his feet, who also shook his head. “I saw him this morning.” Agumon interjected, “He seemed to be in a really bad mood though.”

Davis frowned in response, yeah, he would be in a really bad mood after what happened. “I saw him a bit after that.” the tiny, high-pitched voice came, and as he turned towards it, he saw the in-training form of Guilmon – what was its name again? – talking. “We talked for a while, he needed to work out some stress.” A pause, and Davis grimaced a little. “I think he said he was going to the gym in HQ?”

“HQ?” Patamon frowned in TK’s arms, “He was in that bad of a mood to go there during a vacation?” Davis cringed inwardly, “Yeah.” His head then turned to Gatomon, whose voice seemed a little more sullen than he expected, “I got a notice from Eve that someone entered HQ so I went to check up on him.” She blinked a few times, sighing, “…He was not in a good mood.” Gods, had he fucked up that badly?

Gatomon shook her head, “That was a few hours ago at this point though. I wouldn’t know where he is now, I can’t imagine he’s still punching a sandbag.”

“Excuse me.”

Everyone’s heads turned to the side, as that same white-haired woman, today using a casual dress of greys and silvers, approached the group. “Apologies, I couldn’t help but overhear.” A small, transparent, glowing screen right next to her fingertips, hovering in the air, “But Veemon has not transported back to our world, I have not had a ping on the transporter for that since he entered HQ.”

“So… he’s still in the gym?” Davis’s voice was uneven, shaky. He could feel that little shiver that ran through his entire body. The rest of Eve’s group approached her from behind, alongside that maid of hers, carrying one of the armchairs with an ease that definitely looked uncanny. “if you want, I can check.” Eve smiled, and Davis nodded quickly. Veemon had to be in the gym, right? Where else would he go in the digital world? Especially in the middle of a vacation?

Eve sat back down on the armchair, and clapped her hands together. A single, long, transparent keyboard appeared, hovering in from of her, a mess of monitors followed shortly, showing a multitude of things that Davis’s eyes could not keep up with. Eve typed quickly on the keyboard, and what looked to be a map of some kind appeared in the main screen, alongside what he could recognize was an image of Veemon…

“Let’s see, he accessed a checkpoint a few hours ago…” she spoke softly, her brow furrowing. Her typing never slowed, her precision never wavered. There was a tension and an anticipation in the air, as everyone, from the destined to the Digimon to even the other members of Omega gazed into the monitors as best they could. Davis could feel his teeth gritting, his nails digging into his arm.

And then, he saw Eve’s eyes bulge out, in surprise and astonishment. Davis barely needed to hear the words that came next. Even if, five minutes ago, he tried so hard to fake his anxiety and his trepidation to himself. The words would be enough. Enough to force him to break into a full sprint and back into his room to grab his smartphone. To use its teleport function into the digital world. To rush to Veemon’s side.

_Veemon, what the hell are you doing?_

* * *

She typed quickly, feeling her own brow furrow in response to what she was seeing, “Let’s see, he accessed a checkpoint a few hours ago…” what could that little dragon be doing? That checkpoint wasn’t anything special. There certainly wasn’t a mission for him to complete. Hell, there was nothing there to keep track of – no search and destroy missions to speak of. And he shouldn’t even be doing that job in the first place, not during a vacation!

Her fingers typed to get Veemon’s trajectory and current location – she was so glad she had bothered to install a tracking chip on the members of Alpha – and she saw him go north, and north, and north. Her eyes started to grow when she realized he was already past the locked “XS” checkpoint, the one she had set up but prevented anyone from using. One of only four. For a moment, she didn’t want to believe it, but she saw it, his trajectory made it obvious –

“He’s going towards Machine Pit.”

She turned her head quickly as she heard the impact, Davis turning around and sprinting at full speed up the stairs, “Davis!” she heard Tai cry out, Takato immediately getting up from his seat, “Machine Pit!?” she heard Gatomon, but she turned her eyes back to the monitor. Now was not the time for astonishment, “What the hell is he going there for!?” now was the time for action.

“There is only one thing worth seeing in Machine Pit.” Hopefully, her words would be self-explanatory, she was too busy focusing on what to do now. The monitors flared and changed, swapping with each moment to a singular screen, before she quickly typed in the code that she needed with her right hand, and as soon as her finger pressed enter, she pushed that same screen aside, right as it turned into “Communications Established…”

“Black Dragon, do you read? Over.” Her voice was higher than normal as she immediately worked to check on his location again – Veemon was close, but with his speed, she had enough time to set things up. She immediately started working on the checkpoints. “Loud and clear Empress, Over.” Came the voice from the monitor, she could vaguely hear the shouting, Gatomon’s distinctive voice as she barked orders to the others.

“Veemon is going towards Machine Pit, southern entrance, we need you to intercept him!” Eve’s voice raised again, “I’m unlocking the XS checkpoint so we can get there faster!” it was as much a statement to BlackGuilmon as it was to the rest of them, and even as she spoke, her fingers danced on the keys, disabling each and every single checkpoint and area transport that she could, except for that one, to make absolutely sure no one picked the wrong one and was delayed for even a moment. “I repeat, intercept Veemon—”

“I got it Eve!” BlackGuilmon’s voice was as desperate as she had ever heard him. The communications cut off immediately afterwards, and she could hear the running and the distinctive sounds of the teleportation – some, evidently, did not have their phones on them. She furrowed her brow a little, but as she looked over her shoulder, she only saw Ophelia.

And without missing a beat, Ophelia calmly responded, “Lord Elsword, Lady Rena and Lady Ara have already moved to warn the others, mistress.” She spoke, “Lord Elsword has decided to mobilize the entire team for this event.” She did not need to mention that Eve was very much a part of that too.

“Thank you, Ophelia.” She turned back to the monitors, and still, as quickly as she could, she opened back to comms screen, immediately typing in the code she had used not weeks ago – the screen stuck on “Establishing Communication…” for several seconds before… “Eve.” His voice came through, tired. “What is it?”

“Sorry to cut you short.” She started, “But we have a crisis and we’ll need you for it.”

September 11th, 2025  
7:03PM, Eastern Standard Time

I push through the last branch in my way, finally feeling more even and less annoying ground to move through under my feet. Now that there’s nothing in front of me – no annoying black-barked trees, no big vines as thick as my arm, so annoyingly tangled branches that somehow blend perfectly with the rest of the environment – I can finally see it. Past the leaves in the ground, past the stone, past the trees and the canopy, that opening, that big dark-blue floor, those tall metallic walls protecting what looked almost like an empty void of space.

I grab my communicator from its pouch again, and look towards it. This is it. The big, red, “YOU ARE IN A DANGEROUS, FORBIDDEN AREA. TURN BACK.” At the top of the screen confirmed it. That big “X” at the center of the area confirmed it.

Machine Pit.

I exhale strongly, putting the communicator back into the pouch and running forward. With every step, I get closer, with every step, I can see that gnawing dark blue void get bigger, with every step, I get closer to knowing. To getting a proper fucking answer.

And just as my feet go from pressing into long dead leaves and into cold metal—

The sirens blare strongly, I raise both of my hands to cover my ears as best as I can, that high-pitched whining that sounds like danger and makes my ears ring strongly. Even after it ends, I can still hear the ringing, that whining noise, and I grit my teeth against the pain that they cause.

But as I look up, towards the ground, I can see that the gnawing void is gone, covered by thousands and thousands of different silhouettes. Some of them large, some of them small. Some of them metallic, others much more made of skin. Digimon. Of all shapes and sizes. I run my eyes through them. Ultimate. Mega. Mega. Ultimate. Ultimate. Mega. Ultimate. Mega.

From Andromon to Lynxmon, from Diaboromon to – I grit my teeth – _Kimeramon_. I can see nothing but Ultimates and Megas. Megas and Ultimates. Not a single Champion, Rookie, or in-training in sight.

And I am completely surrounded by them.

And yet, I can hear the footsteps, those massive steps of strength that shake the earth around me, the tremors and the respect they command. I can see it. That golden ore, rising above the rest of the Digimon, the two elongated horns pointing backwards and to the skies. The segmented carapace, the long tail, the massive claws. The creature of legend stood now before me, gazing down on my figure after walking through the countless Digimon that stood around me.

Fanglongmon lowered its head, “The Digimon of Miracles.” It spoke, “What brings you to Machine Pit?”

“I want to talk to the Prophecy.” I barked out, my teeth bared, “I want to know why it hasn’t just fixed the Digital World yet!” I can see its eyes grow a little bigger, its eyebrows furrowing, “I want to know why we have to work through this broken world when it could just fix everything by itself!”

Why we have to suffer. Why we have to toil so endlessly, with little hope of seeing a difference. Why the literal god of the digital world, if it is as powerful as the legends say, had refused to fix the world in the last two years. Why we have to go through this.

And yet, I can see its head raise again, its gaze lowering more and more, “The Prophecy will not see visitors.” It responded, its eyes narrow, “Not even one of the destined Digimon.”

My eyes grow and my fangs bare – “WHY?!” I howl out, “WHY DOES IT REFUSE TO FIX THINGS!?” a step forward – “WHY DO WE HAVE TO GO THROUGH THIS SAME DAY OF SUFFERING OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN!?” my voice is getting coarse, “WHY DOES EVERYONE I LOVE HAVE TO SUFFER WHEN IT COULD JUST FIX EVERYTHING?!”

“ ** _WHY IS THE PROPHECY SO USELESS!?_** ”

My throat hurts from my shouting, my breathing is uneven, I can still feel my jaw clenched, my claws digging into my hand, but teeth gritting in anger. But even then, even through all of this, I can still see Fanglongmon frowning. For a singular moment, I can see it open its mouth to bare it teeth, but it closes it again. “This will be your only warning.” It starts, and then, its eyes glow softly, **_“Leave.”_**

The command is spoken in a way that reverberates through my entire being, I can feel my body taking a step back, I can feel my jaw unclench, my torso turning to run away. In the back of my mind, I can feel the fear, the fear of that command creeping through my throat and into my heart, that cold hand gripping my chest, my rational brain screaming “RUN!” so strongly that it deafens my ears, leaving me stuck in a moment of darkness and silence.

No.

I can feel the trickle of blood through my mouth, I can feel the claws on my back foot digging into the dirt right outside of Machine Pit. I can feel the sharp pain into my hands and the ringing in my ears, the clenching of my teeth as I can feel them dig deeper into my lips.

And when I open my eyes again, Fanglongmon is gone. I can still feel the iron around my mouth, the pain in my body, the pulsing in the back of my head. But it’s gone. They’re gone. Leaving me with only the countless Digimon in front of me, blocking my path.

“ _Warning:_ ” a voice starts, off in the distance, off in the sky and off in nowhere, “ _You have sixty seconds to vacate the premises. Failure to comply will result in your threat level increasing, and you will be dealt with accordingly._ ” The voice is metallic, it is grating, it is annoying, and it only makes my blood boil harder.

Why? Why – how could a god let this happen? In every tale – in every report, the Prophecy was the creator of Yggdrasil, the creator of the entire Digital World. Every Digimon, every forest and desert, every speck of dust, every bit of data was created and written – and _rewritten_ – by The Prophecy.

“ _Forty-five seconds._ ”

So, why? If it is so monumentally powerful, why does it allow this to happen?

“ _Forty seconds._ ”

The destined and the Four Lords are the only Digimon left. Every other Digimon is one of the Berserk, or one of the mindless drones used to protect Machine Pit. There were so many lives – so many histories, so many experiences, so many loves and adventures – that are just… no more.

“ _Thirty seconds._ ”

So many wonderful lives and beautiful places, left behind to rot and be forgotten, to be distorted and broken, to turn into mockeries – not even reflections – of what they used to be. And the few that are left behind are here, suffering, suffering in endless toil and—and—

“ _Fifteen seconds._ ”

If things were as they were, then none of this would have ever happened. Gatomon would never have turned into someone she’s not. Davis would never have suffered in loneliness and depression. I never would’ve been through this pain and frustration and—

“ _Five seconds, please leave now._ ”

**_“SHUT UP!”_ **

…

I can feel my hand hitting hard metal, I can feel it slide across it and it give way only slightly. I can feel the coldness in it, and I blink, seeing the yellow eyes and that big, red horn atop its head, the small cables connecting its six, bladed-collar like limbs into one red and white, thin body. Its head move to the side, moved with my punch, but it does not visibly react. Its face stays perfectly neutral, even as my vision fully focuses, and I can feel it push back.

“ _Threat level increased. Terminating intruder._ ”

I feel my back hit cold metal as the wind is knocked out of me, a weight pins me through my chest, as I instinctively reach for it, feeling the sharp claws of one of its limbs poking on the bottom side of my chin. Both of my hands pull on the cables that form its leg, but the Infermon won’t budge. It is pinning me down completely and perfectly.

And so I look up, seeing its face gazing back upon mine, with no soul behind the eyes, no thought and no emotion. Its mouth opens, revealing a small tube that protrudes outward, and as I see it glow, I pull back my left arm and throw another punch, but this time, even as I push with as much strength as I can against its metal face, it does not budge. The glow gets stronger – I reach for my gun, but it grows stronger and stronger—

A strong gust of wind picks up, I can feel the weight lifted from my chest, I can hear the heavy impact and the noise as it gets knocked to the ground and slides through it. I try to raise my head, but both of my arms instinctually cover my ears, pulling them down against my head. A deep, bellowing roar runs through my body, and I can almost feel my stomach churning in response, the bile and the iron coming back to my mouth, I can feel my ears growing warm, my whole body shivering in pain against the force of that roar. It’s almost like – like it’s tearing me apart.

But when it subsides, when it subsides I can breathe again, I cough twice, blinking several times to fix my blurry vision. I can feel the warmness running through my head – my ears are bleeding, great – and I can see it. The long, red body that coiled into a long tail in place of its legs, the torso covered by what looked to be a ribcage, reaching inwards towards a red Digital Hazard symbol across its heart. The bladed arms across two large pauldrons also covered with the Digital Hazard symbol. The two, giant, skeleton wings whose sinew was broken and ripped, tinted in the colors of fire and blood.

I had only heard of it in tales and stories, or that one time when Guilmon told me of an incident, but there, before me, I saw the so-called destroyer of the Digital World. Megidramon.

“ _New intruder detected_ —” the metallic voice came again, just as formless and void as before, “— _threat level increased, initiating_ —”

“Security override!” The giant dragon before me howled out, its voice as deep as the blackness of its stories, “Code Zero-Two-Five-Nine-Seven-Dash-Sigma! Shut down all security protocols!”

It was difficult to believe, the voice was different, the body was different, the color was different, but I recognized it, that dragon before me, I could recognize it easily. I had seen them before. That tiny little voice behind me. That deep voice that always startled me.

I blink twice – “BlackGuilmon?” I ask, and the dragon turns to look over its shoulder, teeth protruding from out of its face and maw, “I’m getting you out of here.” He replies, “Don’t worry.”

“ _Operation denied. You do not have administrator privileges._ ” The metallic voice came again, and I could hear him let out a small “fuck” under his breath.

“ _New intruder detected_ —” it repeated, in that same tone as before. Megidramon turns towards me, “Listen, they’ll focus on me as I’m the bigger threat.” He starts. “You’ll only have to handle one or two of them.”

“— _threat level increased, initiating termination protocols._ ”

He turns back around, his wings beating once, the wind left behind by them forcing me to cover my face. “I’ll catch up.”

He takes flight, immediately lifting several meters into the air, and just as he suggested, all of the Digimon’s eyes turn to him. I can see the dots of light and the beams coming, blades and arrows being shot upwards to follow his trajectory. And I can see how his beats his broken wings strongly, catching air and moving farther into the facility, drawing their attention – and their attacks – away from me.

I can feel the sharp pain on my lip again, that sickening taste of blood, “He’s not going to make it.” There are too many. He’s only one mega. They have hundreds – thousands – of them in there. Even if they’re weakened. He’s only one mega. He can’t deal with all of this on his own. I can feel the black steel in my hand, my hand reaching for my gun.

But what can I do? If a Mega can’t handle it. Then I, a Rookie, can’t either. Even with this gun, even with all of my luck, there’s no way I—there’s… I can’t help. I can’t help. _I can’t help._

I turn around, gritting my teeth, that feeling of iron coming through my mouth again, falling past my lips. I can see exactly one creature in front of me. That tiny metallic ball with two arms with red gloves and a smiling face. Mamemon. I pull out my gun, set the damn thing to Maximum, and fire.

It jumps right out of the way, and immediately starts running against me, I shoot towards it another three times as it does so, it weaves left and right in between my shots. I can see one of them streaking against its head, but then it’s upon me. I hop to the side as it throws a punch in my direction, and I fire.

This time, it doesn’t dodge. I can see the bullet pierce the very center of its body, leaving a perfect hole through the metal and falling to the ground with strength. The Mamemon falls forward to the ground, unmoving, and with gritted teeth, I run towards the fo—ack!

I feel my jaw hit the ground first, the sheer pain of me biting my tongue as I fall to the ground full force. I can feel something grabbing my leg, but even as my eyes water in the pain, I turn around, and through my blurry eyes, I can see it, that metal body, even with the hole through it, even as it broke in data, even as its legs gave out and it could not move, its red hand grasped at my leg, I try to kick it out in reflex, but it doesn’t budge. That sinister smile ever undying, even as the rest of its body disappears. It raises its other hand, a direct shot to me, even as I do my best to break free. I go to pull the gun towards it, already feeling the burning in my hand, but—

“Garuru Cannon!”

I blink, and what little remains of the Mamemon is now frozen solid, a singular block of ice. Its grip falls from my leg, and I kick at the ice as what remains of its body fades away into nothingness. I pull my leg back, feeling the coldness of the ice against it, but in a single moment, I can see the silhouettes gather around me. I can see the long cape as it billows in the wind, the white armor with one golden arm, and one blue arm, the latter closing from the cannon that came out of the mouth where the hand would be. Omnimon glances over his shoulder at me, unblinking.

Beside him, flying, I can see the multiple golden wings in behind the silver and blue armor. I can see the large pauldrons and the comparatively tiny head, the loincloth in front of it covered in DigiCode, reading “all shall become one”. His hands outstretched, Seraphimon does not bother to look back in my direction, instead focusing upon the torrent of Digimon in front of him.

Walking alongside Omnimon, I see the smaller, slender Silver armor that I have not seen in too long. The golden wings less natural and more metallic looking than her partner, and yet the spear and the shield as prepared as always. Ophanimon, unlike Seraphimon, takes a moment to turn her gaze to me. Her mouth turned into a thin line. I cannot see her eyes beyond her visor, but even then, I get a sense of sadness and regret coming from her – not aimed at me, but at herself.

“Veemon!” I lift my head to look behind me, and I see the crimson silhouette, the two pauldrons of gold and its ten silver wings as it beats them one last time before landing next to me. Gallantmon Crimson Mode – Guilmon and Takato, together in biomerge. His head does not turn to me, even as he kneels down, and in his arm—

“Veemon.” I can see that burgundy hair again, those brown eyes and that dark blue shirt he so preferred. Even as jumps off of Gallantmon’s arm and turns towards me, I can’t find myself believing it, and yet – “Veemon”. He hugs me, he kneels down and that warmth comes over to me, that same needy embrace and that same overwhelming strength of life and purpose, that same scent I had grown so used to, that same frizzy, uncontrollable hair that I’ve felt so many times against my scales. It’s him. He’s here.

Davis.

* * *

He pressed tighter against the little dragon, that sense of relief washing over him as he felt the familiar scales pressing against his skin. He allowed himself a sigh, and a single moment to caress his head, to play with his ear as the smile crept across his face again. Veemon was here. Veemon was alright. He was alive. Even through this entire situation, he was alive. That sense of trepidation, that anxiety that had been gripping him, now gone.

And yet, after that single moment of relief, he pushed the dragon back, holding his shoulders strongly, “What are you doing here?” the question came before he gazed upon his eyes, those big, red eyes clouded and misty, the tears running down his face, but even then, there was no sobbing. His breathing was normal, but he cried, “I don’t know…” he replied, even as the tears streamed down his face yet again, “I just…”

He did not know why he held his breath as he waited for Veemon’s answer, that little lump in the back of his throat coming back, “I… I wanted it all to stop.” And growing, growing stronger and making his stomach churn. “I wanted… all of this pain to stop.” His eyes bulged out, was Veemon here to—

“I wanted all of the suffering of this war to stop.” He blinked, the tears cascading down his face again, “I just… I wanted the Prophecy to fix things.” He exhaled, “So we… so you… wouldn’t have to suffer anymore.”

_“So things could be as when we were happy again.”_

He hugged the dragon again, holding him tightly across his chest, he didn’t hear sobbing, he didn’t feel it, but he could still feel the tears as they wet his shirt and his chest. He could feel Veemon grasping him strongly, those needy arms holding on to him for dear life, and he did the same to the little dragon, he placed a small kiss on the dragon’s head. In the end, Veemon just wanted everything to be okay again.

He felt the footsteps, and they both turned their heads towards it. Gallantmon walking to join the rest of his comrades in the fight, “Hey, Veemon.” He started, his voice much deeper and colder than Guilmon’s, “That Megidramon – is that the same Digimon that helped us in the forest fire?”

Veemon blinked a few times, lifting his hands to clear the tears, “Y-Yeah…” he said, “It’s him… he saved my life…” he finally lets out a sob, “But… now…”

“He doesn’t look like he’s doing too good.” The voice was Takato’s this time, and Gallantmon beat his wings once, taking to the air again, “In which case, we have to help him.” He stated, the blade of silver light appearing in his left hand.

Davis turned to the little blue dragon below him, “We’re going to have a long talk once we’re out of here.” He said, and reached for his digivice, he gritted his teeth, he knew doing this was terrible, but they had no other option – Veemon, even in the best conditions right now, would not be much help in the fight. Their only option was to – he exhaled in frustration – run away and let the others handle it. How he wished Ken were here.

“Now come on, with Raidramon we can get out of here quick—”

“ _Threat level increased, upgrading to security protocol level two.”_

He turned around, and suddenly; he saw across the forest path that they had just came from a line of Digimon that most definitely were not there before. From the small, to the large, to the immense that broke the tree line. Their way was barred, completely and utterly barred. With so many, not even Raidramon could break through.

The many Digimon, in their many shapes and forms did not move, nor did they attack. They were unmoving and unblinking, but Davis knew – he knew that the moment they tried something, they would be the target. He could feel the others as they dashed into the fray of the main structure, the wind and the dust they kicked behind lingering just enough on their bodies. They were now fighting.

But how would they escape?

* * *

“Transcendent Sword!” the blade ripped the flesh of the first Digimon that came to him, slicing another to his side in the process. Omnimon took short flight, jumping past the charges of several Digimon around him, he looked upwards for a moment as more shots fired towards the skies, he could see the large, red silhouette flying across, crushing one in its claws, and another in its jaws.

And yet, he too now had issues to deal with. He felt a creature cling to his back, a Cerberumon, its jaws biting pitifully and uselessly at the back of his neck, but simultaneously, he could see the MetalSeadramon that sent an ice crystal in his direction, as he raised the blade again, blocking the projectile harmlessly, he smiled. The battle-hardened Royal Knight knew how to turn a disadvantageous position into an advantage.

He raised again his right arm, firing another subzero shot in the direction of the Seadramon. He did not linger to see its body turn to ice, much as he expected, another volley of shots was coming from deeper within and towards the air. He leapt forward, and just as the volley started firing, he turned around in midair.

It did not take long for him to feel the impact, one of the shots firing uselessly into the Cerberumon stuck to his back, the resulting cloud of smoke stopping the Digimon below him dead in their tracks – the smoke provided ample cover for him, as with one single strike, he destroyed the several Mega Digimon that were now under him. If he could break their anti-air, then they could get out of there much faster.

But his advance was only made possible by the support of both of his heavenly comrades. “Seven Heavens!” the male Seraphim cried out, his hands glowing in pure golden energy, radiating orbs of light that struck upon the ground and exploded as miniature suns, the bodies of those affected purified in holy light.

And yet, even as he shot these orbs of divine light, he knew full well that there were too many enemies to handle with the base technique – the ability would normally stop at him firing only seven of these, and yet with this many enemies, he would need to go through triple, and beyond.

And below him, the female Seraph brandished her spear, stabbing one Digimon in the head and throwing them against another. A raised shield blocked an incoming blow, even as she lost her balance as another Digimon jumped on her shield. Her knee buckled, but with a beat of her wings, she raised her lance, stabbing both of them in one strike, and pushing both into the ground. “Eden’s Javelin!” her wings beat again, taking her off the ground, and as her spear glowed strongly, a large beam of light carved a path from her towards the Royal Knight far deeper into the confines of the structure.

And yet, she frowned, even as her attack ended, she could see other Digimon quickly covering to fill the space. Was it just her imagination, or were new ones being summoned? Did their ranks even thin at all? She looked upwards, she could see the concern and the trepidation in Seraphimon’s face. He had noticed it too.

This would be a lot more complicated than it first seemed.

* * *

He felt the blood seep through his hands for just a moment as the bones cracked and snapped under his claws, he looked to the side – another one incoming – and immediately swiped at it with his claws, he turned forward again, seeing another, white Digimon attempting to block his path – his jaw opened and with one bite, it was dissolved into data particles.

The pain ran through his abdomen, his wings flapped weaker than they were moments prior, the volleys if shots had become weaker, they had been easier to dodge, but now the fliers were the real issue. Megidramon did everything in his power to try and get out of harm’s way – being bait and distraction was no longer worth anything, now that he had backup, he just needed to survive.

A deep breath, and that multi-limbed monstrosity that was Kimeramon rose in front of him, he growled deeply, it raised all of its arms to stop him, but he charged on it head on. Its limbs were barely strong enough to slow down his charge, his claws dug into its belly, ripping the bone from the flesh from the sinew from the guts, he felt himself rip through the monstrosity as his entire body moved through it, the blood and the guts vanishing quickly into the data particles as he let out a roar of rage and hatred.

And frustration. He knew this was already a losing battle. Each and every single one of the Megas and the Ultimates and all of the mindless Digimon protecting Machine Pit were weaker than their regular counterparts, their tactics were simplistic, they were simply not smart enough to be as much of a threat as they would otherwise be.

But they would always have one thing on their side – numbers.

Even as he roared, he could see it, above him and to his side, the data particles forming back into the air, forming new Digimon in tiny flashes of light, different Digimon, same Digimon, it mattered little. Machine Pit’s strategy for victory in its security was never overwhelming power, it was never fancy tactics or clever traps. It was simply forcing you into a war of attrition you never had any hope of winning.

Especially not with The Prophecy commanding the armies, blocking communications and teleportations, reading your every thought and possible action to account for its Digimon guardians – after all, in this world, everything is data, including thoughts, and The Prophecy is the God of Data. You are not just fighting a battle of attrition; you’re fighting a battle where your opponent knows your every move before you make it – before you even think of making it.

This is why Machine Pit is so dangerous and impenetrable. You can’t fight infinity. You can’t beat omniscience.

He felt the sting and the impacts again upon his wings. He braced himself, more shots coming from behind him, his arms and blades and torso were already sore, his wings were already beating unsteadily. He had taken the brunt of the attacks for too long. He could still keep going if needed, but this was already starting to take its toll on him.

And yet, as he covered his face, he could feel it, even with his eyes closed, he could feel that searing light that streaked the sky, the explosion of energy and power that came. _“Quo Vadis!”_ was the cry of power that preceded the strike, the burst of light in front of him forcing his eyes to squint. Even at this distance, he could feel the energy threatening to strike him, and only by some miracle, not.

When he opened his eyes, he could see the silvery wings and the crimson armor, those two yellow eyes. That muffled voice that came through, “Are you okay?” it wasn’t him, of course, but in any other situation, maybe he would allow himself to pretend.

Megidramon nodded, the Digimon that were attacking him momentarily gone, but he knew it was just a matter of time. “I’ll handle the skies, take a rest.” The Gallantmon spoke, turning around. “We need to get everyone out of here.”

He nodded again, another beat of his weary wings as he descended back to ground level. There were still many Digimon, but fortunately they were too occupied with the others to truly give him much attention. He knew it wouldn’t last, so he swooped down to the ground and back to the entrance as quickly as possible.

And that was when he felt it, that impact upon his back, the pain came through to him as it shot through his spine, from the top of his head to the tip of his tail. It was electric as much as it was _cold_ , cold and powerful in a way he hadn’t felt before. He looked back, but immediately fall himself falling. He looked to the side – his left wing was frozen solid.

He allowed himself one brief moment to breathe, and this is what happened. He was going to crash land; he had no other option.

He did his best to aim his body towards the entrance as his descent became faster and faster and faster, he beat his wing as best as he could, trying to break the ice covering it, but it was no use, and with this much speed, it was too late – he clenched his jaw, closed his eyes and braced for the impact.

It came faster than he expected, he skidded across the ground, first through metal, then through dirt and broken leaves, the pain in his body was great and searing, sharp and powerful, but with a deep breath, he turned around, seeing the silhouette of the blue metallic wolf coming for him. He could feel the hotness in his own mouth, his eyes growing in anger as he let it out – “MEGIDDO FLAME!”

The jet-black streaks of fire that came from his mouth shot across the sky, in the direction of the coming attacker, the wolf dodged to the side, even as he tried his best to follow him with the attack, at a distance, it was impossible to hit such an agile creature – he beat his wing again, still frozen, and he was not in a good position take flight – so he was going to take this thing head on.

And yet.

When the blue wolf approached, when it reached close enough to attack Megidramon with its claws, even as it raised its tail to attack, even as it raised its claw to fight back, he saw it, that streak of dark blue leaping across him, that cold steel being unsheathed midair in one desperate yet perfect swing, that black hair and those brown eyes, steady and still as the blade sliced through the MetalGarurumon, cutting its head clean off from its body, the carcass flying harmlessly above Megidramon’s head, forming a perfect arc of red blood even as the data particles streaked alongside it. The leaves that trailed him in his leap fell to the ground as he landed, one foot on the metal floor of Machine Pit, the other in the dirt right outside.

He smiled to himself as he let his form devolve back to his rookie form, his body shifting and turning back into the biped dragon he was in his day to day life. He was still fallen across the dirt, and yet, when he looked upon the man as he turned around, blade still in hand, he grinned – “…I missed you, you asshole.”

“Yeah.” Sacchi snorted, “I missed you too.”

His head pointed forwards again, sword now in both hands. “Can you stand?” he asked, to which BlackGuilmon pushed himself up by his arms, getting back up with only a little difficulty – he was glad that his injuries didn’t stay on him after devolving, only the exhaustion and the pain. “Are you kidding?” he laughed, “I’m made of sturdier stuff.”

“Good.” He could hear the smile in the man’s voice, “Then rest, we’ll need you to evacuate as soon as we can get everyone back to the entrance.” And now, he could see the man’s brow furrowing, “In saving you, they got stuck themselves.”

The ground shook strongly, and BlackGuilmon turned around, to see the pillar of flame rising behind them, incinerating the Digimon that were blocking their path out, the flames swirling into themselves, a tornado of orange flames that rose high above the canopy. And from it…

* * *

I can see the flames as they rise to the heavens, I can see the swirling ashes and the embers that spill out. Davis clutches me tightly as he recoils from the impact. He buries his face in my shoulder, but I can’t look away, not when I can see shadows forming inside of the flames, not when I can see them growing bigger and closer, even as the Digimon around them – the few survivors – stand unmoving next to a literal whirlpool of fire.

And yet, when the shadows finally pass through the flames, the first thing I see is that red hair with the black headband, the black choker on his neck, the long necklace, the long pants and metal shoes with the uncharacteristically revealing open shirt. A red tattoo of a circle with a dot on it showing on the bottom left side of his belly, and a large sword, square in shape and black and white in color in his right hand. “Sorry for the wait.” Elsword’s voice comes, as the other shadows pass through the flames, and with a flick of his left wrist, the fire tornado dissipates behind him. “Had to round up the group.” He says with a goofy smile on his face.

Past him, I can see others approach, I can recognize Rena and Raven, the former glancing to us as she walks past, a sympathetic smile on her face, while the latter, holding a red sword as big as his body, walks past with a single mindedness that terrifies.

I could see that Aisha girl, a single, long axe over her shoulder, a large, purple point hat atop her hair. She did not speak, but a dreadful glee came over her face as she approached the battlefield. Behind her, that blonde man, now wearing a black-clad armor with one pistol in each hand, two blue scarves billowing in the wind as he walked.

“Are you two okay?” as I turn to the voice, I can see a long haired black woman holding a spear in one hand, she looks to us, concern and relief in equal measure in her eyes – Davis nods, “We are. Thank you, Ara.” He replies, and the woman takes a moment to breathe, before walking along the path to Machine Pit’s entrance.

And behind her, behind all of them, I can see the white-haired queen that I had come to know so well, “The situation is under control.” She did not look at us when she spoke, and neither did the maid the walked beside her, nor did the faceless creature behind her, one blade in each hand, “We’ll get you two out of here, safe and sound.” I could hear her fingers snapping as she passed by us.

And it didn’t take long – it didn’t take long for me to hear the first crash, that deafening explosion.

_Davis’s voice turns weaker. I know he’s talking – to me or to his sister? – but I can’t make out the words. Not through my own tears. Not through my own sobbing._

It didn’t take long for the sounds of battle to grow and grow, I could hear metal banging against metal, and a strong wind came over my body, a shiver being sent down my spine.

_I can feel the shaking, the metal straining, for just a moment, the blades seem to spin to a bit slower. I can still taste the ash in my mouth, I can still feel the oppressive heat, I can still hear the screams._

If I turned around, I’m sure I would feel the heat more strongly, the occasional ember licking the back of my head. If I turned around, I could see the data particles flying, I could see the blood spattering, I could see the metal breaking.

_The world shakes – are they going down? I don’t even know what’s real anymore. I can hear the scream, distantly, but I can’t reply, I can’t breathe, I can’t—_

When I pull on my arm, I can feel the resistance, “Veemon!” the voice that comes is startled and desperate, but even as I pull, I can’t shake him off, “What are you doing!?” I can vaguely feel the tears streaming down my face, the pain on my wrist growing stronger, “Veemon!” I can see them fighting – I can see BlackGuilmon against the walls of the entrance, doing his best to nurse his wounds – I pull harder again—

And then, I can feel my body move, not towards the battle, as I wanted, but towards softness and warmth, I can feel the tight embrace around me, I can feel his chin against my head, “Vee…” his voice is soft, weak, and I can hear the sobbing start, I can feel it in his chest. “Please… don’t go…” I can hear the crying; I can feel his arms embracing me tighter.

_“You’re too important to me to throw your life away.”_

I lift my head, seeing his eyes as they themselves fill with tears, he blinks, twice, his breathing breaking, “Please—” his voice breaks, “Don’t… go…” and I can feel it in his trembling hand, in the regret in his eyes, in his fear and his anxiety, in the way he grips me tighter every second, not wanting to let go – “I don’t want this world… to take the last good thing in my life away…”

And that’s when I see it, at his side, on his hip, the light grows and grows, that tiny screen that held so much power and potential shining as brightly as the first time it once did. As Davis’s gaze shifts, he too sees it – the golden light, almost blinding radiance with a comfortable warmth. He picks up his digivice, and the light only grows stronger.

And above it, that golden metal of power hums softly, the engravings just as I remember from so long ago, thrumming, _pulsing_ with golden energy, as brilliant and as radiant as the sun in the sky. Davis clutches it in his hand, the tears subsiding, his breathing growing steady, I can see the recognition in his face, he knows what it is – it has been too long since we’ve last seen it, but here it is, the real thing –

“The Digi-egg of Miracles.”

I turn back towards him, and smile, “Davis, let’s go.” My hand grabs his arm, encouragingly. His eyes bulge out in surprise, his grip on me slackening only a little, “With this—with this, I can fight.”

I can help.

And I can still see the anxiety in his gaze, the trepidation and the fear, I can feel it in the way his fingers tremble, in how his grip tries to slacken one moment and holds me tighter the next. My hand passes through his face, caressing his cheek, “With you, I can do anything.” That cold grip of anxiety is gone from my heart, that fear vanishing completely as I bask in the golden light. “Together, we can make miracles happen.”

I press my thumb on his cheek just a little bit, “Davis…” I smile a little more, “…Do you believe in me?”

And it’s in that single moment that I can see it, the anxiety isn’t gone, the fear isn’t gone, I can still see the millions of possibilities running through his mind, the trillions of ways that this could go wrong, I can still see his labored breathing. But it’s in that one moment where he gulps it all down, and allows his courage to swell inside of his chest, to push past all of the negative feelings – it’s in that one moment where he allows himself to believe.

I can feel the warmth of his lips as they touch against mine, and I can feel the radiance as it engulfs my body and breaks away my form, what little heaviness lingered in my chest replaced by golden armor, that weight of guilt and regret upon my shoulders turning to pauldrons to protect my body. My body grows bigger, lighter, more powerful, my claws grow, my body is clad in the gleaming gold armor of the Digi-Egg, and as the warmth upon my lips fade – as my head too, is clad in protective gold – I can see his smile, his genuine smile, even through the tears of before. “Go get them.” He whispers.

And as I pull away, determination and drive swelling into my chest, I allow myself to smile as I close my hand into a fist, seeing my reflection in the armor of my new form.

The Radiance of Miracles.

**_“MAGNAMON!”_ **


	12. Impossibility

As he broke through the flames of his own creation, he landed strongly on the ground, rising his head and looking to the duo in front of him, “Sorry for the wait.” He flicked his wrist, the whirlwind of fire behind him vanishing in an instant. He smiled, placing the butt of his sword on his shoulder. “Had to round up the group.”

Ordinarily, he’d take the time to make sure that the two in front of him – Davis and Veemon – were alright. But right now, he had bigger problems to worry about. He looked forward, towards the onslaught on the battlefield, and as he walked, he could hear the footsteps from his comrades behind him. He could see BlackGuilmon, both smiling and astonished at their sudden arrival, and he could see the cloak as dark as the night sky, brandishing a sword towards them, before his stance relaxed.

“Been about two years Sacchi.” Elsword started, approaching the man, “I hope you still know how to fight.” His smile never wavered, even through the chaos that ran in the background. Sacchi’s expression was serious, but he did appear to relax momentarily – he nodded, and Elsword responded by taking another step forward.

“What’s the plan, Elsword?” came Rena’s voice from behind, the woman wearing a large black ribbon to tie up her long golden hair, a light green short dress atop a black bodysuit covering her torso, whereas only a short black skirt and boots covered her legs and feet – the skirt itself trailing behind her more like coattails, leaving the front of her body undisturbed. “Doesn’t look like this will be easy.” Her black, fingerless glove reached for the arrow-shaped metal that was attached to her other hand, the main frame of her bow.

“Eve?” he asked, and the white-haired queen nodded. The little silver tiara atop her head as perfectly still as that immaculately groomed and tied hair of hers. “Enemies are entirely made up of Ultimate and Mega level Digimon.” She started, a flick of her wrist showing a glowing monitor, her dress left her shoulders exposed, but was otherwise perfect at covering her entire body in a way that exuded a regal aura, and showed much more practicality than her other dress, if you ignored the pompous skirt behind her “They are significantly weaker than average, however.” Her robot maid, Ophelia, walked next to her, and the faceless Oberon, both blades held like Tonfas, took a step ahead of them, “But they do seem to regenerate and respawn quickly after death. This will be a battle of attrition.”

“In that case…” Elsword took a deep breath, the smile vanishing from his face, he approached the man in the cloak as dark as midnight, “Sacchi.” He started, placing a hand on his shoulder, “You’re bad at dealing with hordes.” Sacchi nodded in response, and he lightly pushed him to the back, “You can handle whatever stragglers get through the frontlines. Make sure BG, Veemon and Davis don’t get hurt.”

Sacchi did not protest, taking position to the side, between the duo of Davis and Veemon, and BlackGuilmon. The Digimon blocking the exit wouldn’t attack them, so he only had to deal with whoever came from the main battlefield.

And then, with another deep breath, he could feel the energy coursing through his body, “As for the rest of us…” he could feel the Ouroboros mark glowing at the left side of his belly, giving energy and power to his other marks, “I don’t think we can afford to fool around, our objective is to get everyone out of here.” He could feel the magic coursing through his body, through his veins, and feeding into the other marks – the marks of Fire, of Blades, of Enchantment came online.

“In which case…” he could hear Aisha’s voice, the woman balancing her axe-staff on her shoulder with a gleeful smile across her face, she tipped her pointy hat a little, her long hair swaying as she did, “We gotta make a _real_ dent in their forces.” The sinister giggling that escaped her mouth was preceded by her placing her staff head-first into the ground, a purple-black whirlpool opening below her. “Angkor~!” her voice betrayed her almost childlike glee in what she was about to do, even despite her attire being anything but childlike. The thigh-high boots and high heels of purple and pink that only gave way to the bottom half of a long dress, open at the front, but long and frilly at the back, almost like a skirt. From the ground rose a blood-red rod of thick metal, levitating gently and rising as more and more of it left the portal. As it rose above her bare midriff and the dark bra she wore, she grabbed it with her arm length gloves, revealing the sharp, blood-red curved blade at the tip. With one hand, she raised her axe-staff, and with she other, she brandished her scythe. “Let’s have some _fun!”_ and she rose into the air, flying into the battlefield, leaving behind a maddened laughter.

“First things first.” The voice came from his side, and as Elsword glanced over his shoulder, he saw Raven, reverse-gripping his red sword, his stance went low, one of his metallic arms forward, the other pointing the sword down to the ground. “Get everyone to the entrance, then we can escape.” And with a flex of his legs, protected by armored boots, he was off. A large cry preceding a red-hot explosion as his arm impacted with the ground.

“Activating Intense Showtime.”

Elsword gazed over his shoulder, to see Chung holding one hand above his chest, the El Crystal of Water within glowing even past his armor. Quickly, the last remaining part of his armor was filled in – where before stood his unprotected head, now stood a hood and a mask of white metal, two large, yellow, pupil less eyes taking the place of where his blue eyes once stood. With a flourish, the man holstered his left gun, and reached for his black cannon in his back, looking more like a sniper rifle than a cannon. With it on his left hand, he pressed it to the ground, and with one explosion, he propelled himself deep into the fray, past Raven and towards Omnimon.

And it was just then that Elsword felt the other marks in his body come to life – the Mark of Summoning, the Mark of Disruption, the Mark of the Moon – and with a smile, he raised his hand, and with a snap of his fingers, the seven orbs, marked with the seven symbols across his body, gently floated in red around him. The Rune of Flames and the Rune of Enchantment moved towards his blade, and immediately, it ignited, the fire licking his gloved hand as he allowed himself to smile – just because the situation was dire, didn’t mean that he couldn’t have _some_ fun.

* * *

“Silver.” She kept her voice neutral, even as she saw Elsword leap into the fray alongside the others. Rena took position upon the entrance, but Ara’s eyes went upwards – the crimson armor of one of the members of Alpha almost indistinguishable among the blur of colors of the several flying Digimon in the skies. Aisha already taking to cleaving some of them in half.

The white fox, now the size of her body, appeared in her vision, “I’ve got your back, Ara.” He replied, and Ara felt her grip on her spear tighten in response. With a deep breath, she started running forward, letting the cloth on her long white sleeves and cloak billow behind her as she did. With a leap, she was above the battlefield, and with a single moment of concentration, even in the air, she felt the weight of her foot against the ground, and pushed herself upwards again.

She may not be able to fly, but being able to walk on the air was a good substitute.

With one more leap, she swung her spear, cutting through a flier from below with the second blade at its side. As she settled on another spiritual energy platform, she turned around, to see that she was now as much of a target as Aisha and the member from Alpha. Several sets of eyes turned to her, and she leapt to her right, dodging several incoming projectiles, and running across the air around the battlefield.

“Ara!” she heard the fox’s voice as it ran alongside her, “Behind, below!” she did not need to hear it twice. She took a big leap, a backflip in the air just before a wave of flames passed where she had been moments prior. As she twirled in the air, she could see the offending creature – some bird-like of red and gold – and as she was upside-down in the air, she kicked off of another platform, falling quickly towards her target.

It turned too late to see her coming, she impaled her spear directly in its torso, feeling the energy of its life fade away quickly as it broke into data particles, she pulled her spear out even as she fell from the sky – the thing lodged halfway into its body – before taking another leap and taking to the skies again.

She twirled her spear with both hands, feeling the dark plumes gather around it, forming a black vortex around her hands. With a spin and a throw, she saw it fly, fly towards the first enemy it could. Like a saw, it cleaved through its body, cutting it cleanly in half, before moving towards other enemies, each and every single one of them sliced in half just as cleanly as the first.

The spear started to turn, and with it, her trajectory shifted, seeing as it curved outwards and returned to her, sawing through anything in its path. She could see the crimson-colored Alpha member looking towards it, and as the spear completed its arc, Ara leapt towards it.

She reached for the center of the circle it was creating, grabbing the handle of the orange spear perfectly, before turning around in midair and kicking off another created platform, and with one more leap she dove past that crimson-colored knight, and swung her spear as strongly as a maul.

The Digimon behind it – some green colored metal thing with two wings and arms that more looked like cannons – was cleaved in half by her strike. Even as it disappeared in data particles around her, she stopped herself in midair with another platform, taking her balance again kneeling on it to absorb the impact of having to stop her descent so quickly. As she looked above, the crimson knight looked to her, its silver wings beating idly, “Return to the entrance!” she screamed, “We’re regrouping!”

“Ara!”

In that moment that she took to breathe, she could not react in time. She looked upwards, but saw only the golden metal as it approached her quickly, digging its claws into her side. The sharp pain ran through her body as she lifted her spear again. She could feel herself falling, the creature pushing her to the ground quickly.

“Silver!” she cried out, knowing full well what would happen if she fell and couldn’t get back up immediately. From the edge of her vision – from the corner of her mind – she could see the Fox approaching her, and it was then that her consciousness was pushed back.

She could see herself turning in midair to kick the Digimon in the face, her eyes turning red as her spear swung once again, the secondary blade taking the Digimon’s head clean off its shoulders. She could see her own hair turning white, and the nine, spectral tails as they slowly emerged from her back. She could see her own body flip in midair, even as the trail of her blood dissipated from the energy consumed from the fallen enemy. The six marks appearing across her cheek as she finally landed on the ground, the dozens and dozens of hungry eyes and claws immediately approaching her—

And the roar, the massive, deafening roar that came out, a blinding pillar of light following it that massacred all enemies around her, turning them to dust and data immediately. As her body rose up from its kneeling state, she could see her own brow furrowed, her eyes now glowing of the deepest red, she was now, fully, a prisoner inside her own body.

“I AM SILVER, THE THOUSAND YEAR FOX!” he howled again, his voice escaping her throat. He pointed the spear forward, brandishing it threateningly, “SPEAK THY NAMES SO I MAY KNOW THEM BEFORE I SEND YOU ALL TO _HELL!”_

* * *

_Ah, so Ara **is** going to take this seriously then. _She smiled, _Good._

The scythe always felt so incredibly light on her hands, cleaving through yet another life always felt so easy and effortless, the only reason why she didn’t use it more was—

“Oopsy daisy!” she could hear his annoying voice as he appeared behind her. Above her shoulder, she could see him throw a tiny black orb towards an incoming enemy, and as it hit it, the enemy was teleported several meters below her – now a problem for Chung to deal with. Angkor smiled at his little prank, turning to her, “What’s wrong?” he asked, still smiling mischievously, “There’s still plenty of lives to take, Aisha.”

Because Angkor was always very excited to come out whenever she _did_ use it.

Still, she licked her lips in anticipation, placing her staff horizontally on the air. She sat down on its long handle as it floated. In her hands, a black book marred in chains appeared, and with a deep breath, she gazed upon its empty, yet delightfully ready pages. Angkor looked towards her, smiling, before going higher. With one hand, she held the book, and with the other, she carefully balanced the scythe, smiling all the while.

Angkor rose higher in the air, a pitch-black ball of energy appearing in his hands. As it grew larger and larger, he could already feel the countless eyes that gazed upon him. He saw the flames and the ice, the countless projectiles thrown towards him, and he immediately responded by entering the large black orb above him, the shots disappearing inside of it.

The orb descended, covering Aisha’s entire body within it. Inside, the orb was see-through, it was simply a barrier, one that looked way more threatening than it actually was. Although, of course, it functioned as very good bait – the moment they realized their shots weren’t working, the countless fliers charged towards them, a mess of claws and jaws, of blades and armor that knocked over each other as they approached, as hungry and as relentless as the mindless beasts that they were.

Angkor turned around to Aisha, waving his little goodbye. He vanished in a puff of smoke, and immediately, the pitch-black orb around her vanished. She was mere inches from death, and yet with a simple tap of her finger across her staff – she no longer was.

She stood right in the middle of several different types of enemies, of all colors, shapes and sizes. One pointed a sword towards her, another pointed some sort of spear, claws threatened to pierce her heart, just as jaws betrayed the terrible breath these creatures still had – it mattered little. The pages on her book filled quickly, turning themselves as each line was filled with code after code in a language most would never understand.

And once they were done turning, she closed the book, and with a contented sigh, she stood on her staff, taking her scythe in both hands, and with a flourish and a twirl, swung it around her with strength and purpose. The blade cut no bodies, and yet, even frozen in midair, the data particles started to form, disintegrating any and all enemies directly around her.

Tiny lights formed from the particles, and gently, each and every one of them coalesced into a single flame in her hand, it burned cold, its color was of a glowing grey, and it was weak, frail, _pathetic_ even, as if the smallest breeze could threaten to blow it out.

“Aww, that’s it?” The annoying little shit’s voice came back, he could feel his hands on her shoulder as he peeked above it, “You killed so many! It should be so much bigger than this!”

“Well, this is what I got.” She raised her hand, and she could hear him giggle under his breath, “We can call this a light snack, then.” She felt his take the flame from her hands. She did not bother to gaze in his direction afterwards. “Guess I’ll be sticking around a bit longer, then~!” Angkor’s laughter grated her ears, still, at least she had already fulfill her half of the contract for now. It’d allow her to concentrate on the task at hand – still plenty of playthings to break.

Still, as thunder rolled into her ears, she took a moment to look to the skies, seeing the white circular light that formed above the battlefield – or more accurately, right above the entrance – her gaze turned downwards, towards the bright white silhouette of Eve.

The queen had turned her gaze upwards, there was a moment of anxiety forming in her head, even as she heard the thunder rolling into the air. But then she saw it, the white and gold silhouette of metal as it plummeted from the portal, crashing with full strength down in front of her. His coat covered in simple ornamentation; his chest marked by the blue crystal that gently glowed in the light. As he got up, pulling his weapon from the ground, he gently floated, the glaive’s blade being activated with its core of Azure Aether, forming a blade of blue light. His white, spiky hair gently swayed in the wind as he turned around to her, most of his expression blocked by the golden visor across his eyes, and yet his mouth formed into a thin line.

Eve took a deep breath, “This will be your first proper deployment on the new chassis, Ferdinand.” She started, gazing into his eyes even as they were covered by the visor, “Do you believe you are ready?” She had placed all of the possible precautions. His mind had been perfectly backed up down to the last moment of his previous life, the core in his chest and weapon, as well as his chassis had been reconstructed down to the last detail. She had done the job perfectly.

And yet as he continued to wordlessly look at her, a trepidation grew into her heart. Before – “For you, my Queen?” he smiled, “I am always ready.”

She smiled back, “I will work on support, then.” Her voice was pointed towards Ferdinand, but it was as directed to him as it was to Oberon and Ophelia. “Oberon, you will back up Rena in keeping the entrance safe and clear – you will clear the path to the entrance, while Rena clears the entrance itself.” The white-clad robot nodded, “Yes, Mistress.” He replied, his blades rotated in his hands, outwards, and he jumped towards the entrance.

“Ferdinand.” She turned to her third servant, his mouth now once again into a thin line, “You will be a guerrilla unit, you will aid the others as you see fit, ensure they all survive unharmed.” Ferdinand wordlessly nodded, and in a quick flash of light, he was gone. If one looked hard enough, you could see the arc of light his blade created as he swung it, already in the middle of the fray.

“Ophelia, you’re with me.” She turned to the maid, who simply nodded in response. Eve snapped her fingers, and the two little metal rat-like creatures at her side, Reby and Moby, quietly floated above Ophelia. As they circled above her in a wide arc, a blue light was created between them, and from it, a white plasma cannon dropped into Ophelia’s hands. “We’re giving Rena and Oberon backup.”

The maid placed the cannon on her shoulder as both Reby and Moby returned to Eve’s side. “Yes, Mistress.” She replied, and the two moved towards Rena, already engaged in combat.

The elf did her best to stick her ground, but with so many enemies, there was bound to be a few that would force her to dodge around, and then proceed to do her best to get to her initial point. Her right hand reached for the metal on her left wrist, a thing white line appearing under her fingers as she shot a light-arrow towards a large, metal-clad orange dinosaur. She could see the arrow pierce into its shoulder, but it did little to slow it down, as its metal chest opened to shoot two missiles in her direction.

She exhaled in frustration, the tattoos she had received under Ventus glowing strongly across her body. She bent down, and with a single leap, she found herself going beyond most of the horde that was between her and her comrades, above the incoming missiles and directly towards the big damn dinosaur.

As her tattoos glowed again, she kicked the air strongly, sending a single greenish wave towards her landing point, the wind pushing all enemies that would stop her away, granting her that single moment to breathe.

She saw the metal dinosaur raise its metal claws, swiping at her even as she fell. When she landed, she ducked as far down as she could, the giant claws passing mere inches above her head, and pressing against the ground, she leapt again towards it, her right knee connecting directly in the center of its giant belly, right where the tissue was softest.

She raised her other leg as soon as she saw the flesh give under the impact, and with a single motion, she placed all of her strength into the kick, hitting it from below and sending the giant creature flying into the skies.

Most of her upwards momentum was gone, but she still took use of her motion to take a backflip in the air, once, twice, before settling into an upside-down position as she fell back to the ground, her hands stopping her fall completely as she stood, for just a moment, upside-down on the ground.

She felt the power of the wind from her tattoos again, she pushed her body to rotate, her legs spreading as wide as they could go, her body starting to spin upside side down as she felt the wind gather below her and around her, forming a powerful whirlwind with her rotation. She spun faster and faster, and in just one motion, she quickly gathered all of the wind she had created, propelling her directly upwards towards the skies.

She did not need to see it, she could feel her legs dig hard enough into the creature’s flesh to pierce it, far enough that she could feel the gore and the blood digging all the way up to her thighs. As her spin ended – as the metal dinosaur started to break into data – she created another strong gale, pushing not so much her legs out of the creature, but the creature out of her legs. With that last moment, she used the creature as an upside-down platform, kicking off of it and descending quickly, directly towards where she started.

Flipping forward, she was ready to open up her landing exactly as she had done previously, but in that same moment, an orb of light grew directly atop the weird, small bird-man creature that was her target. In a moment, the orb grew into an explosion, and when it ended, there was nothing but the dark-blue metal of the ground.

When she did land, she tumbled forward, turning around and looking back towards the horde as she did. Her landing zone was already occupied again, but she did spare a glance to the white-clothed and black-haired maid to her left, her gun still softly glowing from its last attack. “Thank you, Ophelia.” The maid did not answer, the gun glowing stronger, a thin beam of light crossing the battlefield.

The beam pierced cleanly through the chest of a werewolf-like creature as it was in midair. Its target, Elsword, sidestepped the now falling corpse. The embers of his flaming blade trailing behind him. He reached with his left hand behind him, the runes of fire and of summoning touching his palm, and immediately, his entire arm was on fire.

He took a leap to the side, finding himself against a creature of blue fire, his blade cut through its raised hand harmlessly. Its hand of flames phased through his burning sword, going directly for his face.

He did feel his face get slightly hotter in response to the attack, but the creature didn’t seem smart enough to realize that someone that primarily fought using fire would have some level of resistance to it.

He swung his sword, the flames on it dissipating as he did, striking the rune of enchantment as it went. He pushed forward, through the creature’s hand and through its body, caring little for its heightened temperature. The second rune – the Mark of the Moon – moved towards his sword, and with a smile, he saw it glow its silvery-white hue as the sword expanded in size, growing to be twice as long as he was tall, and with enough thickness to match.

He turned around with a swing, seeing the creature of fire cut in half by the Luna Blade. His heightened range wouldn’t last long, so he had to make this moment count. He used that same momentum to spin his blade around himself once, cutting or pushing back anything that might be in his immediate vicinity, and he pulled his left arm back, before thrusting it forward with strength.

The flames left his arm, taking life and form outside of it, the flames grew as they travelled, sprouting and expanding wings as it did. A high-pitched screech could be heard as the enemies it passed through were incinerated in an instant. The Phoenix arced its back, flying upwards and arcing back to him, beating the flames that allowed it to fly, its talons reaching for and digging slightly into his shoulders as he was brought out of the ground.

But from the corner of his eyes, he gazed towards the entrance, that golden light that radiated from behind Rena, behind Eve and behind her servants. He moved through the air, aided by the Phoenix, and smiled at the incoming aid.

* * *

I can feel my fist dig into the metal, putting a mark in the shape of my hand across it moments before feel the wind left behind by the Kenkimon, seeing it fly across the battlefield, its giant body crushing several other Digimon under it as it falls. With a spin, my backhand collides with the metal gauntlets of an incoming MachGaogamon – I pull my other arm back, punching it square in the face, sending it flying equally as far.

“Plasma Shoot!” I cry out, with a smile in my face – several little compartments open up across my armor, tiny golden missiles being shot all at once, blanketing the ground below me. I hide myself in the smoke for just a second, and pull back my leg, kicking another Mamemon square into the air, sending it farther into Machine Pit.

It’s been so long since my body felt so light. So long since I felt so strong. It’s impossible for me to not smile, even as I jump forward through the smoke, landing with another punch into the ground, crushing whatever was below me. There’s that little voice in the back of my head reminding me that this is a dire situation, that I need to take this seriously.

But god damn it, there’s something _liberating_ about being here, in this body, with this much power, actually being able to fight. Something nostalgic. Something that makes it almost _fun._

I can feel my ears twitch, and I turn around, going for another backhand strike—

But I feel myself hesitate, the white hair with the golden visor, that mouth turned into a thin line, that spear-like thing that glowed blue. My battle instincts told me to strike it right then and there, but in that moment of hesitation – this is not a Digimon.

It turns towards me, the arc of light left behind by its weapon lingering for just a moment. It does not speak, but it regards me for just a moment, and then I can see it raise its arm—

I leap towards the side, and the attack goes wide, but as I look towards that trailing light, I can see as it cleaves the very center of a white-haired, red spider-like monstrosity. Arukenimon. Her body falls in two perfectly cut slices, leaving no blood, and showing no other wounds, as if the blade had cut through her like a hot knife through butter.

The creature before me – even as the Digimon it just slayed falls in pieces to the ground and turning into data particles – points its weapon forward. “Do not get distracted.” It says in a human voice, tiny balls of light escape from the tip of the handle of its weapon, and only a moment later, in a flash of light, they explode, and its is gone. I can see it in the background, already slicing through something else.

I allow myself to smile, turning around to punch yet another incoming Digimon, but I can see more approaching around me, I can already feel one going to strike me. With a smile, I feel the golden bubble encase my body, the protective glow of my Aura Barrier leaving any and all attackers unable to cause me harm, no matter how much they try.

And try they do, I can feel the impact of the first strike before it vanishes in a deluge of different attacks, all coming for my barrier. If these mindless beasts were as strong as real Megas – or even Ultimates – then I might have some actual trouble resisting this for too long. But it feels so easy, so very, very easy to do this. In these few short seconds, I must’ve already been struck over one hundred times, and my barrier isn’t even close to broken.

And with a smile across my face, I curl my body into a small quickly, before throwing my arms and legs wide in a single burst. The barrier breaks, its shards breaking through all nearby attackers, opening a wide field around me that is clear of danger. I can’t help but gaze upon it with a smile.

And yet, in the blink of an eye, the data particles fall away, and in tiny flashes of light, they are all replaced, the area around me just as dangerous as before my attack. No time to celebrate – time to go asskicking.

* * *

Raven covered his face with his left arm, feeling the heat of the golden shards striking against them. It did not hurt, as such, although he could rarely feel pain through the claws, but the impact was still strong enough to send him back a few feet.

As he uncovered his face, seeing the golden knight only a short distance away, he took a deep breath, and turned away, no time to complain about friendly fire. His sword swung towards his right, he felt the impact as something collided against the back of his hand during the arc, he could feel it give. With a single motion, he pushed into it with his left hand, taking the creature’s hand into his massive red claws and crushing it with little resistance.

The body already breaking into data particles, he swung it around and threw it into the direction of the first large enemy he saw. His left arm closed into a fist, it was difficult for him to fight in a place where the ground seemed to be completely unbreakable – lords know, he had tried already – but that didn’t mean he had no options at his disposal.

Running in the direction of the first creature in his path, he pivoted to his left, right as the ugly thing’s claws struck for him. He jumped upwards, using its head and then its back as platforms before finding himself on the air. The burning in his left hand grew hotter and hotter, the heat emanating through and licking his face, the claw itself catching fire as he reached the apex of his jump.

Pulling the claw back, he opened his palm, and throw the glowing orb of energy in it towards the ground. The enemies in its path jumped away, but all it took was the impact, automatically turning the tiny ball of fire into a glowing dome of searing hot flames, an explosion of flame and fire, and as his left claw closed into a fist once again, he descended quickly into the center of the flames.

What little of his body remained that was still fully human could feel the temperature, threatening to burn him just as much as it did the creatures around him, he pressed his other arm close to his chest, protecting his torso, and angled his face upwards so the metal on his neck could protect his head from the worst of it. His fist crushed down on the orb at the center of the blast, and in that single instant, the shockwave stopped—

Before blowing up once more, with renewed vigor, the blast farther and hotter than before. Unlike the constant flames of the first strike, this second lasted for only a moment, but in its destructive power, Raven could see the several dozen meters of enemies that had been either destroyed or pushed back by the explosion. Raven got back up, brandishing his sword again and getting back into a fighting stance.

And fortunately for the Phantom, this explosion had given him just such the opening he needed.

Before this moment, he never had the opportunity to pull out his cannon – too many enemies and using it was too slow to do much. His Phantom Shooters danced in his hands, each and every pull of the trigger sending compressed light through each target that he aimed at. Maybe in regular combat he allowed himself the luxury of missing occasionally, but not here, and especially not during Intense Showtime.

Now, finally having the necessary moment, he pressed his left gun into its holster, and then used that hand to pull onto the cannon on his back. Pulling it out with one strong arc, he smashed the butt of it on the ground, pointing it upwards. Using his other arm, he pressed down continuously on the trigger, as it shot several of its missiles towards the skies.

Yet the missiles did not stay upon a straight path, deviating randomly towards each and every direction. One went directly upwards, but the others came all around him in a large radius. Their white and blue shells broke, leaving behind floating panels that formed a dome around him, each and every one with the symbol of the Phantom that he had taken, marked only by bright red words – “lock on”.

Chung pushed the cannon towards the ground, pulling his other Phantom Shooter back out, pointed both of them outwards, and time seemed to stand perfectly still in that single moment. He aimed one of his Shooters at one of the panels, firing, and even its shot of compressed light travelled at a turtle’s pace to his eyes. When he focused, when he unleashed the true power of his armor, to him, time slowed to a crawl.

With the other Shooter, he fired at a different panel, and as he turned his head upwards, he fired towards others. The moment the first shot hit a panel, a big blue explosion emanated from it, destroying anything in its wake, and yet the panel itself was not destroy – nor was the shot stopped, simply ricocheting off of the panel, and into another one. With every shot, there was another ricochet, with every shot, there was another explosion. He was, very quickly, surrounded by them.

And yet, he was not fazed, nor did they affect him. Each panel was far enough away from his position that it would not affect him, its area of effect large enough to seriously make a dent on enemy forces. It would not stop them – for as many as it would kill, just as many would be replaced – but would create a gap, and gaps can be exploited.

As the explosions started to cease, as the panels started to fade from view, Chung grabbed his cannon once again, seeing the white knight from Alpha Team taking advantage of the gap he had just created to fly back towards the entrance. As he turned back towards it, he saw Oberon fighting off several of them, brandishing his blades as sending a large shockwave in an X shape to breach a line in the enemy’s defenses. Rena and Ophelia kept the entrance clear, and with the help of the others, a clear line was now open for them to retreat. He could already see Raven going through it.

And yet, he knew he was too far.

Hoisting his cannon back to its holster on his back, he sprinted in the direction of the entrance, the last of the explosions from the panels fading, the white lights of the Digimon coming back already reappearing. He could already see the members of Alpha on the entrance, Eve and Rena never left, and Aisha had already returned. Raven was several dozen meters ahead of him, Elsword could simply use Aisha’s air support to fly through on the Phoenix. He could even see Megidramon having made a return, aiding in Aisha’s efforts to keep the skies clear.

Which meant, him and Ara were the only ones left.

As one light appeared in front of him, he leapt above it, somehow managing to find solid ground without having to clear a path. And yet, now his path was fully blocked, he had very little choice but to keep fighting, and hope they could clear the path again.

He would rather not use his last resort except _as_ a last resort.

Some sort of oversized tiger tried to bite at him with its equally oversized fangs, he had a faint memory of seeing this creature before, but little did it matter now. He pivoted to the left, pointing the gun towards its face, and firing it. The shot pierced its flesh, but did not kill it, but at least in this moment, it did not need to.

Pushing off of his left leg, he jumped towards the oversized monster, still recovering from his shot, and kicked off of its head to try and go farther forward. And yet, he flipped around in midair, pointing both guns behind him and firing almost blind – his instincts were correct, there was a bright yellow creature right behind him.

The two initial shots were, unfortunately, not enough to take it down, and it kept flying in his direction, raising its claw-arms, and going for the strike. Chung had no other option – he pulled deeply on the triggers of both guns, and felt them fire in fully automatic against his attacker. Shot after shot after shot piercing its armor, until, eventually, the data particles started to show, its speed was decreasing, it was dead.

But when he allowed himself to stop firing, he turned his head upwards as he flew horizontally through the air, his landing zone wasn’t cleared, and he didn’t have enough time to do it! Damn it, that thing was a distraction! He instinctively reached for his cannon – he’d have to try to alter his course in midair.

But as he reached for the trigger, with the cannon still firmly strapped to his back, he saw it. With the world in slow motion, he could see even things that others could not. He could see the long white hair as it moved across the sky, the nine, bright white tails that trailed behind it a signifier of his aid. With a single swing, the creature at the center of his landing zone was dead, but before it could even start to fall to the ground, the same white blur moved to another for a second strike on another creature, and then a third, and then a fourth.

Even if he saw the world in slow motion, he could still barely keep track of the movements. When he finally managed to kick his body into some semblance of balance in midair, backflipping to get onto the ground on his knees, he looked upwards, to see that same white hair, brandishing the spear in the middle of a clearing in this maelstrom of hell.

He looked Silver in his red eyes, and nodded, the Fox nodded back.

“How are we getting out of this?” he asked, in a low tone, both guns still at the ready – there still was not a proper path back to the entrance.

Silver answered only a moment afterwards – “Jump up.”

The Phantom did not hesitate, and with one strong flexion of his legs, he took the largest leap directly upwards as he could.

Silver, meanwhile, took a very deep breath, even if he had just cleared the stage, those brief moments of doubt from Chung had bought the enemies time to respawn. He flipped the spear into a reverse grip holding it right at the point on the handle farthest from the blade, and pulled his arm all the way back. With a deep breath, he concentrated—

He could feel the spiritual energy coalescing, he could mold it into his wishes, turning it towards the very tip of the blade as it began to glow yellow. The power and the life force of all of the creatures he had just slain – as well as the spiritual energy he himself carried as a Divine Spirit – coalescing into a single point, and into a single moment.

And when that moment came, when he felt himself surrounded again by claws and teeth and metal opponents, he swung the lance with all of his might, arcing around him as the blade itself drew a yellow energy line several times its size, cutting and cleaving all enemies around him. Halfway through the arc, he let go of the spear, before quickly transitioning his grip to a normal one, completing the perfect 360° slash.

And then, he jumped, seeing Chung right above him right as the man reached the absolute peak of his arc, and as he rose, as Chung and Silver reached the same altitude, Silver pressed one of his feet to Chung’s, a single platform of spiritual energy between them, and they both kicked off of it. Chung in the direction of the entrance, Silver farther into Machine Pit.

And as he regained his balance in midair and made another platform of spiritual energy, he leapt forward again, running through the air as he joined the rest of his comrades.

* * *

He could feel the steel clashing against his sword, the thick, notched sword pressing against him as he pushed back with as much as he had. The lion before him did not show any emotion, the twig in its mouth moving only slightly from the strain he was producing. He knew this was not a strength contest he could win.

So instead, he pivoted on his left leg, letting his sword slide across his own blade as he did. The slash would go through, and he pulled his right leg out as fast as he could to dodge the attack. It only barely worked.

That moment where the lion was now fully pressing the sword against the ground where he once stood was the moment where he reached for his second sword, hidden on his back upon a concealed sheath. He pulled on its handle at his hip, and still reverse-gripping it, with one strong arc, struck against the lion’s neck. It tried to raise its arm to block and it succeeded in stopping the worst of it, but the blade still struck the back of his neck.

He then stabbed the first sword forward, feeling it cut through the flesh and pierce into the lion’s heart, even as he tried to raise the sword to block it. As the sword was pulled back and he switched the grip on his second sword to a regular one, he could see the lion breaking into data, unable to stand up as it clutched the wound. Even in death, even in the pain that its body was feeling – the little spasms and the shuddering betraying it – there was no soul, no thought behind the eyes.

This was the fourth such creature he had slain during this fight, and a part of him was glad for it. As Sacchi sheathed the second sword once again, hearing the crackle of electricity as the stealth functions reactivated, he allowed himself to take a deep breath. The truth was, he was still rusty in close-quarter combats like this, having not engaged in it for the last two years. It was still scary how many of his old reflexes, muscle memory and instincts still functioned just as well as when he left, but he was still glad that the others were letting very few stragglers through.

He took position once again a few steps in front of Davis, holding his Katana with both hands. The deep breaths he took enough to calm down his breathing and to allow him to focus again. Aisha had already returned, and he recognized the backs of Ophanimon and Seraphimon as they too tried to open a path. Omnimon tried his best to assist them, and he could see Rena and Ophelia also taking the time to strike whatever could approach. The few stragglers that could come through generally had managed to jump over them, and Sacchi was confident that with Aisha and that Crimson knight – Gallantmon, was it? – on the air, he would not need to do much more work.

And when he saw Elsword soaring through the air on his Phoenix, and Raven approaching the entrance, he turned around, seeing the man behind him, pressed against the trees a few meters away, “We’ll be moving out soon.” He started, “Be ready to run.”

He nodded wordlessly, but his head turned upwards, towards another incoming shape. Aisha was off to the left, firing another dark energy ball at fliers, and the knight had taken to stopping more enemies towards the right. One, apparently, was going to slip through. He placed his feet firmly upon the ground, ready to fight whatever was going to come.

And yet, as soon as the creature hit the ground and Sacchi took a step forward to deal with it, he saw the silhouette of light appearing behind it, the white creature with two freakishly long arms and two devil wings stepped forward, before being summarily crushed under the weight of the massive red claws that appeared right above it. Sacchi turned upwards, and smiled at the red dragon that stood before him, “Looks like you had enough rest.”

Megidramon smiled back, “And I’m ready to fight back.” He beat his wings, taking flight and joining back into the fray.

But it would not be very long until he saw Chung flipping backwards into the entrance, and he could see the vague white shape of Silver as he ran through the air into the rest of the group. He looked around for a moment, before finally catching the golden armor of Magnamon – gods did he have to shout that so loud when he digivolved? He was _right there_ – as he took a defensive position above and behind Omnimon, glancing back above his shoulder towards him and Davis.

Sacchi turned around briefly, “With me!” he said, but he did not wait to hear the man’s response. He ran towards them, fortunate to hear the footsteps right behind him, and as they approached the group, he could see Elsword raising his arm, a giant octagonal symbol with that distorted 3 in the middle – the Sign of Peace – forming in front of him, curving towards them. “Aisha!” Elsword let out, and Aisha landed right behind him, and with a large movement of her arms, something that would look like a wave in the ocean, but as black as the void of space, rose in front of her, just as him and Davis passed through into the group.

The wave and Elsword’s barrier coalesced together, forming a single, large dome of protection around the large group. The Digimon from Machine Pit very quickly moving to strike Elsword’s half, while some few of them try to circle above them, to strike at Aisha’s half.

“Alright, we’re regrouped.” Aisha lets out, a little sarcasm in her voice, “ _Now_ what’s the plan?”

“Eve!” Elsword lets out, grunting a little from the effort of maintaining the barrier. “Any way you can slow down the respawn process or something?!”

To his dismay, Eve simply shook her head, “I’m afraid hacking into Machine Pit’s security systems is beyond my capabilities.” A line that turned the faces of all others into a frown, “Even yours?” Ophanimon asked, to which Eve simply nodded.

“Then we need to brute force it.” The nine-tailed fox remarked, turning towards the place Sacchi and Davis had just came out of – the path to the rest of the forest still blocked by an almost perfect wall of these Digimon. “Open a gap large enough that we can pass through.”

“That means we need to survive a pincer attack.” Gallantmon stated, looking to the creatures still trying to break through Elsword’s barrier, “And if we can’t, we die.” Chung finished his thought process.

“So.” Raven turned to the redhead, “How do we go about this?”

Elsword pursed his lips, another grunt escaping his throat as it did, “Aisha, can you make your half of the barrier able to let stuff out, while not letting anything in?”

Aisha snorted, “ _Easily_.”

Elsword smirked in response, Sacchi was always amused at how much Elsword enjoyed fucking with her even in these situations “Chung, we’re going to need a Quantum Ballista, then.” He started, “Drop it on top of Aisha’s half of the barrier – Aisha, make sure we’re not taking any of it –” Aisha grunted in annoyance, “—and then when the everything currently attacking us from that side is cleared out, I’m going to need Aisha and Eve to help me keep this side safe.”

“And the rest of us?” Raven asked, “Sacchi.” He perked up when he heard his name called, “You’re going to stay on protecting Davis duty, we can’t risk leaving him alone like this.” A short pause, “The rest of you all, use everything you have to break through that wall of Digimon.”

It was not a plan that needed agreeing to – it was the only one they had, the only one they _could_ have. Chung took his cannon and placed it once again on the ground, pointing upwards, the yellow eyes on his metal hood glowed softly with incomprehensible sigils as he whispered lowly, “Launching Quantum Ballista.”

The tip of the cannon expanded, the entire thing opening up to twice its width, and a much larger, much thicker missile than normal fired out from it, passing through the black wave of Aisha’s barrier harmlessly. There were still many creatures striking it – it was still possible to hear and feel the impact on the barrier – but the missile vanished completely upon passing the barrier.

“Ten seconds until impact, get ready.” Chung stated, grabbing one of his Phantom Shooters in his right hand, placing the cannon on his left shoulder. “Nine.”

Sacchi took a few steps to the side, pulling Davis with him, “Eight”, he took his sword in hands as everyone else started taking their positions—

“Seven”, Silver brandished the spear while Rena took a sprinter’s position, “Six”, Raven’s arm started to glow more brightly, Ophelia kneeled into the ground with her plasma cannon still in hands, charging up a shot.

“Five.” Oberon got both of his blades at the ready, while Ferdinand, as always, calmly floated above the ground, his glaive at his side, “Four”, Megidramon’s wings beat in anticipation, small dark flames leaving his mouth, with a low rumble of his throat, while Gallantmon resummoned his spear, eyes narrow towards their objective.

“Three”, both Ophanimon and Seraphimon’s wings beat once, Ophanimon pointing her spear forward, the glowing light on it mirroring the light on Seraphimon’s both hands. “Two.” Omnimon’s sword extended from one of its arms, the cannon in the other ready to shoot, whereas Magnamon’s body glowed only a bit brighter.

“One”.

With his eyes still turned towards the entrance unlike the rest of the group, he could still see it, the blinding flash of light that came, that rumble on the ground as the Quantum Ballista hit the very top of the barrier and exploded on impact, disintegrating anything right above them in a mere moment. Aisha’s dark wave barrier faded immediately afterwards, and only from the corner of his eye, he could see all of the others jumping directly into the wall of Digimon, ready to attack and destroy to the fullest extent of their powers. Aisha turned around, creating another dark wave upwards, making it perfectly vertical, before flying upwards to deal with the inevitable fliers.

Behind the barrier of darkness that Aisha created, quickly have a barrier of light in a honeycomb barrier as Eve pressed a final button on her monitors – how long had she had those things active? – and Elsword pushed the remains his Runic Barrier right behind hers, reinforcing it as he did. Elsword’s arm began to ignite, and in another moment, he threw the flames upward, the Phoenix being summoned again to aid Aisha against the fliers, while he and Eve handled blocking the grounded Digimon.

His grip in his sword slackened, he turned around, to see the mess of bright lights, fire and explosions. Several trees around the forest had already been toppled, revealing only more and more Digimon behind them. He could see the gore and the blood that flew through the air, the leaves that broke off from the trees, the mix of wind and ice and the yellow of Silver’s own attacks. The divine light of the Seraphs, the golden light of Magnamon, the white light of Gallantmon, Megidramon’s flames—

It was not enough.

For every strike, for every attack, for every explosion, for every Digimon destroyed, another would take its place before the data particles of the first were even done dissipating. It did not help that each and every one of them had to contend themselves with friendly fire – the path may be wide, but with this many combatants, to do the big attacks necessary to break through would be to hit one of your own.

At this rate, to get out of here would be impossible, _let alone_ unharmed.

_Insignificant… and powerless._

He gritted his teeth in frustration, but he let his mind wander back to that moment—

_I can give you the power to fight. Power to truly be something in this empty infinity._

He lowered his stance, placing his first sword back in its sheath, his hand hovering slightly above it as he exhaled strongly.

_The power to see the reality in front of you and substitute it with your own._

He sees the wall in front of all of his allies, of Digimon big and small, of those of flesh and those of metal, of beasts and machines and dragons and birds and everything in between. In that moment, it’s almost like time stands still, the image of each and every single one of these creatures seared into his mind.

_The ability to mold and reshape reality to your whim and will._

He blinked, and for a brief moment, he could imagine that wall to no longer be there, he could imagine an empty forest in front of his allies, their path clear and empty, he could see it so clearly, even as when he blinked a second time, he could see the destruction again, a picture in front of him.

_The ability to make the impossible, possible._

He could see Rena as she kicked an enemy towards Raven, who cleaved it in half, he could see Silver and Chung as they worked together to down several others. Ophanimon and Seraphimon and Omnimon focusing on the ones on the center to open a path, while Magnamon and Gallantmon tried their best against the avians above them. Ophelia giving Oberon and Ferdinand support as they dealt with the ones that appeared from the trees around them. One by one, as each enemy fell, they left behind the data particles, and those flashes of light that signified the appearance of another one.

And it was when he saw his old partner, Megidramon, open his jaw and bite through another Digimon, as he saw that light begin to appear below him as another one spawned, that he truly felt like time stood still, like he could see each and every single atom of reality and possibility in front of him. In the back of his mind, he could feel the coldness of the void gnawing at him, those countless universes as they coalesced into a single point, into a single objective, into a singular objective, purpose, command.

_The ability to command reality with but a single word._

**_“Break.”_ **

* * *

The air stood still, no oxygen reached his lungs, no light reached his eyes, he could no longer feel the blood in his mouth from the creature he had just bitten, he could no longer feel the wind as he moved through it in the air. He could no longer feel his body, his wings or his arms or his tail. He could no longer feel that anger and frustration at the impossible task in front of him. A drop of blood stood perfectly still in front of him.

It was that single moment right before you feel your life being taken from you, that single moment where the next time you breathe, your life will have changed forever, that moment that you could only feel and understand when you looked at a picture taken right before disaster—

And when that moment ends, it’s like glass shattering, like the heavy impact of a train crash, like a building falling in on itself, an explosion as deafening and as destructive as it is horrifying. That moment of despair and desolation that makes you feel like something holy had been taken from the world, like an innocence had been shattered and forever lost, that same empty pit in your stomach when you see a child already too jaded and tired in a life too harsh and cruel to have any happiness left.

That drop of blood in front of him was no longer there. That taste of blood in his mouth was no longer there. But Megidramon too noticed – neither were the enemies. There were no Data Particles, there were flashes of light of their respawns, there were no gnashing of teeth or fangs scraping against flesh. The wall was gone. There were no traces of it left. It was clear.

As if it was never there in the first place.

He turned around, to see that same man he had missed for the last two years having drawn his sword, his stance low, his face pointed to the ground, his hair only long enough that he could not see his expression. He was still, unnaturally so, especially after having just drawn his sword in what had been obviously a draw-slash from the sheath.

But that uncanny stillness lasted only a moment, before the man collapsed forward, sword falling from his hand.

It happened too quickly; his instincts took over immediately. He could feel his wings beating as he approached, scooping the man into his oversized hands and lifting him up, “Oberon, grab his sword!” he did not care for the voice, he turned around in the air and moved above the canopy as quickly as his wings would allow, each beat of them a reminder of the man that squirmed and thrashed in his hands – he looked down, he could see some sort of black liquid leaving his mouth, he blinked, it was gone, a chill went down his spine as he gazed back forward, above the trees and farther forward.

He tried his best to ignore that lingering sense of dread in the back of his mind, that lingering sense of nostalgic terror that built inside of his chest.


	13. Hope

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is almost all sex, sex, sex. It should be pretty obvious when it starts up, but there is an epilogue right at the end that might be relevant to you if you don't want to read the sexy bits for whatever reason.

September 11th, 2025  
8:35PM, Eastern Standard Time

He wasn’t sure for how long they had been running, with him clinging so tightly to Magnamon’s chest, the only thing preventing him from falling being the large hands that held him, almost bridal style. He had been kept as safe as he could’ve been from that whole situation – he hadn’t even been injured, a luxury that no one else in here could claim to have.

And yet, the group kept running. They were way past the black-bark forest surrounding Machine Pit now, it having opened up into these weird grasslands filled with this silvery-white grass that somehow left yellow pollen into the air. The group had scattered a bit, and even that flying Digimon – that big red dragon – had come down to their level, still flying as quickly as he could, that black-haired man still in his arms, his body shifting between going completely limb and thrashing in what seemed like excruciating pain.

He didn’t know what the man had done, but it had clearly taken a toll on him.

“We’re good.” He turned to the voice, the white-haired Eve was the one who spoke, “Looks like we’re past Machine Pit’s jamming range.” It did not take long for her to clap her hands together, those same monitors from before appearing before her as everyone worked to slow down.

The members of Omega had already pushed off their little extra tricks. Those weird orbs with symbols on them that floated around Elsword were gone, that large, bright red scythe that Aisha carried was also gone. He couldn’t really tell the difference in Raven and Rena, and that metal hood that Chung had sported was also gone. It was only the white hair and those bright white tails that came out of Ara that remained, although they vanished quickly when the group finally stopped running – the tails vanishing into the air while her hair turned black again.

Magnamon placed him on the ground, and Davis found his balance again as he did. He looked up to the golden-clad Digimon, and smiled. He couldn’t really see the expression through the visor, but he felt the warmth all the same.

A small rumble shook the ground as the red dragon landed, placing the black-haired man on the ground, his body thrashing as if it was trying to use his nails to rip open his own chest. The big red dragon’s body turned into a white silhouette quickly, before turning smaller, into the form of a BlackGuilmon. “Eve!” his deep voice bellowed, but the woman was already walking towards him.

Eve did not seem to hesitate, kneeling next to the man, with BlackGuilmon holding both of his arms at his side, trying to prevent him from hurting himself. The man arced his head back, and started to cough – as if choking on something. Eve took his head on her hand, pushing it to the side, and Davis could see the black ichor that spilled from his mouth whenever he coughed. He couldn’t hear the words exchanged between the Digimon and Eve, but it did not take long for her to stand up.

“I’m taking Sacchi to emergency.” She spoke, turning to the rest of the group, “Elsword, you’re in charge – I’ve already set everything back to normal on the settings.” She did not wait for an answer, she took BlackGuilmon in one hand, and touched the man in the other. The three of them quickly vanished in a flash of data particles, and those three servants of hers vanished shortly afterwards.

Elsword let out a long sigh, “Alright, I suppose first things first.” He placed his sword on the ground, sitting beside it and turning to him – “Davis, are you okay?”

Davis nodded in response, “Yeah, I’m fine.” He had been pushed away from the danger for the whole thing, there was no way he’d be injured. “I’m more worried about everyone else.”

Elsword turned to his own group, to Davis, they looked fine – the occasional bruise and burn, maybe, but fine – “Silver had my back, so I’m good.” Ara let out, and Raven shrugged in place, “Hard for much to stick to me.” There were burns in his torso, parts where his skin seemed redder, but if it bothered him, he did not show.

“I’m fine, really. A bit sore at most.” Rena knelt down to the ground, massaging her own right thigh as she did, letting out a high-pitched sigh. “Mostly just annoyed really.” Aisha spoke, a frown coming to her face, “But that’s usually how it goes.” She continued. Davis did not know whether she meant the obvious connotation, or whether she meant something else. She did not seem to act as if she realized what she just said.

Chung, on the other hand, pulled out one of those black-metal guns from its holster, gazing upon it against the night sky. He took one of these blue scarves from his back, and began cleaning the gun with it. “I’m good.” Was the only thing he said, without ever looking towards Elsword.

Elsword let out another high-pitched sigh, and turned to them, to the rest of the group, “What about you all, how are you holding up?”

The silhouettes of the Digimon turned white and shrunk, Omnimon became the yellow dinosaur and the yellow beast with the blue fur, Ophanimon becoming the cat with those big gloves, whereas Seraphimon turned into the orange little creature with the bat-wing-ears. Gallantmon separated, one half turning into the red bipedal form of Guilmon, whereas the other turned into the blue-shirt-and-beige-pants wearing Takato.

And behind him, the golden light finally faded, the silhouette of his partner shrinking into the form of the small blue dragon he had grown so used to. He couldn’t help but place his hand on Veemon’s head, petting him gently, even as he still gazed to Elsword.

The redhead groaned, “I swear, you Digimon _cheat_.” He still had a smile on his face, and grabbing his sword once again, he pushed himself back into a standing position. “Alright, Alpha, you guys are free to go back to your vacations, I imagine most of you just need rest, so… go do that.” he gave a dismissive gesture with his left hand as he turned around to his own team, “Omega? I think it’s best we spend some time on the Recovery Pods, just to be sure.” Davis could hear the groan coming from both Aisha and Rena, and the little wince that showed on Raven’s face. Elsword’s expression looked sympathetic, although neither Ara nor Chung seemed to complain.

“Davis?” He turned around, seeing the brown-haired visage of Takato, “Guil and I—” he pointed over his shoulder to his own partner, who looked at them from a respectful distance, “—will run some interference on the others for you two. I think you guys have a lot to talk about.” He could see the sympathetic smile on Takato’s face, and the sad one on Guilmon’s.

Davis nodded weakly, and turned to Veemon, who nodded immediately afterwards. Takato proceeded to turned around, giving a goodbye gesture with his hand raised, “I’ll see you two tomorrow.” His tone was weary and exhausted, he was probably going to get back and crash into bed.

He could already see the little flashes of light from the members of Omega as they teleported away, and, with his free hand, took his own communicator from its pocket and looked at the screen – the checkpoints had been opened up again, and apparently, one had been opened at the hotel they were staying. He turned to Veemon for one second, “Let’s go?” and Veemon, after a moment, nodded – “Yeah.”

September 11th, 2025  
8:40PM, Eastern Standard Time.

Once the teleportation was done, he opened his eyes to see the dark room just as he had left it – the bed still unmade, his old clothes still on the ground. The windows were closed, thankfully, and the place was not particularly chilly. He went for the light switch, turning it on to dim light – he didn’t want to turn the light on too quickly after being in the dark so much.

He took a very deep breath as he heard Veemon climb into the bed with a small groan, he didn’t turn to the little dragon, not yet, going to the door through that short corridor and checking the lock on it. He locked it with a sigh, and turned back to the room proper, ruffling his own hair as he sat down on the bed.

He let his head hang low, resting it on his palm as he did, how was he going to do this? How was he going to _phrase_ this? He didn’t want to hurt Veemon, but this was a discussion that they needed to have.

“So…” the little dragon’s voice came, he turned to him, and when he did, he saw the look of awkwardness and concern in his face as he scratched the side of his cheek, “…What do you want to talk about?” the smile was weak and forced, they both knew what he was going to talk about. Davis exhaled a little through the nose, just a tiny smile creeping through his face.

“First…” Davis exhaled strongly, then bent down, untying his own shoelaces as he did so, before kicking off both of his shoes – he needed to be as comfortable as possible for this. He turned sideways, his entire body turning to Veemon, and sat on the bed proper, cross-legged. Veemon did the same, holding both of his knees close and resting his chin on him, looking at him intently, “I need to apologize.” He could see Veemon’s eyebrows raising in surprise, “…I’m sorry I hit you.” for a moment, Davis turned his head away, “…Even if I was upset, that was too much of me.” He sighed.

But he could feel that little hand that touched the top of his, he turned to the little blue dragon, but the pulled his hand away slightly, almost scared to keep touching him. He turned his gaze down a little, and closing his eyes, he shook his head. “…I don’t really blame you.” he adjusted his position, sitting cross legged and placing both of his hands on top of his legs, his head turned completely down. “I… got too heated too.” His face turned a little, ashamed of the words he was saying, of what he had done. “I shouldn’t have—I shouldn’t have started yelling.”

Davis let out a sigh, “Davis?” the little dragon asked, and he turned his attention back to him, but Veemon did not look him in the eye, “…Are we…” he gulped down, “…still boyfriends?” Veemon’s voice cracked a little, his eyes closing strongly, his ears drooping down on the back of his head. He could not bring himself to look at the man, and Davis found himself biting his lip in response.

He gently took both of Veemon’s hands in his, the dragon opening his eyes to look at him, his eyes did not water, he looked defeated and upset, but he wasn’t crying – although it did not look like it would take much to make him cry – and Davis could only look down at the little dragon’s hands as he did his best to look reassuring, passing his thumbs on their backs encouragingly. “…We can still be.” He started, he could see from the corner of his eyes that Veemon’s head had risen a little, “…But we do need to talk about what happened.”

Veemon’s head lowers a bit again, “…I’m sorry.” He started, and Davis could finally look up to him again, “I… didn’t think about how… different things could be from our experiences.” Davis raised an eyebrow, and Vee let out a sigh, “…Whenever you mentioned that I was a guy I didn’t… really… internalize what you meant.” He turned away, “…To me, I never really cared about the gender of my partners. I didn’t realize it mattered that much to you.”

He blinked a few times, then finally rose his head meeting Davis’s gaze, “…I broke you out of your comfort zone. I’m sorry.”

Davis couldn’t help but smile a bit, “…Did Guilmon tell you all of that?” and Veemon blinked a few times in response, his cheeks turning red a little, and he averted his gaze, “…Yes.” Davis let out a little exhale with a smile, a small chuckle escaping his lips.

He gazed to Veemon again, ho could only look at him from the corner of his eyes now, “But you do understand, yeah?” he asked, but much to his surprise, Veemon shook his head. “…Not really.” He started, “I mean… I know I hurt you, but I… don’t understand why?” he gazed to Davis again, that little worried frown of when you’re not sure if you’re doing the right thing at that moment.

Davis took a really deep breath, alright, it was time to explain this again, “…What part, exactly, did you not understand?” maybe this would be better, maybe if Veemon voiced his doubts more clearly, he could use his words better. Maybe this could prevent problems.

“Well…” Veemon started, and he could feel the dragon squeezing his hands a little bit, “…You did enjoy what I did, right?” he started, Davis slowly nodded, although he couldn’t keep himself from exhaling a little strongly – he didn’t like where this was going, but for now, he’d take it slow. “Like, all of it?”

Davis pursed his lips a little, “…The parts where you didn’t hurt me, yes.” He replied, and Veemon sighed, he could tell that the little dragon wanted to say something, but wasn’t quite sure how to, “So… everything besides when I started fucking you, then?”

Davis took a very deep breath, “No, I enjoyed that too.” He started, and Veemon raised both eyebrows, already frowning a little, “But I enjoyed it _despite_ the discomfort and the pain I felt, and I would prefer if we were to do that again, it wasn’t part of it.”

Veemon pressed his head a little more forward, but closed his eyes, and took a very deep breath, it was obvious that he wanted to say something, but was trying to hold himself back from making the situation any worse. He could still feel the squeezing in his hands. Veemon sighed, going back into silence, and Davis took a deep breath, “Look, Vee.” Veemon looked back up, his expression more neutral now, “You did break me out of my comfort zone a lot yesterday, that was part of the problem.” He sighed, “I wanted to finish at blowjobs and that was that.”

Veemon took a very deep breath, dejected, his gaze turning to the side, “But we went farther and that’s… honestly that’s not too terrible.” Davis closed his eyes, inhaling, gods, explaining this felt terrible. “I was surprised, but a part of me didn’t want to stop, I’m a little upset that you went so fast, but frankly that’s the more minor problem here.”

Veemon blinked twice, but stayed silent, prompting Davis to continue, “You… you just needed to be gentle.” He closed his eyes, sighed, and opened them back up again, “I’m a complete newbie to this stuff, I literally never even put my fingers inside my ass before yesterday, let alone a dick.” Veemon blinked twice again, his expression turning a little more surprised, but he nodded slowly, his lips pursed, “You hurt me, and I wish you hadn’t, and none of this would’ve happened if you had just… been gentler.”

Veemon took a very deep breath, he did not respond, he simply turned his face down and closed his eyes. The little dragon was obviously thinking of something, but by his expression, Davis couldn’t be sure what. He could still see the little movements of his jaw, the little movements of his lips, the blinks, and the occasional twitching of his ears. But he couldn’t really discern what he was thinking about.

“Davis.” Veemon’s voice came back up, it was low, but it carried a tone of determination in it. His eyes were only half open, and with a deep breath, he opened them fully, gazing entirely into the man’s eyes, “I want you to show me, then.”

“…What?”

Davis blinked a few times, he felt his grip on Veemon’s hands relax, even pull back a little, his eyes bulged out, although only one of his eyebrows raised, was Veemon trying to—

Veemon let go of Davis’s hands, and, almost immediately, pushed himself forward, kneeling in front of Davis, on top of his lap, his head reaching all the way up to his chest and neck. The little dragon looked upwards, a moment before, he looked determined, but now he looked apprehensive, scared, “…I’m going to say it plainly – I want you to fuck me, Davis.”

Both of his arms gingerly wrapped around his neck, although his grip was weak, like he was almost letting go and pulling back at every moment, “You tell me that sex isn’t supposed to be like that, you tell me all of these things and I… I don’t get it.” He blinked a few times, “So maybe… maybe this is one of these things that is just… different between humans and Digimon. Maybe I’m just being stupid. I don’t know.” He sighed, “So I want you to take lead, I want you to do to me what I did to you, in your own way. That way, maybe I can understand.”

He opened his mouth, he was going to say no, he even mentally formed the word, but it never came out. Because when his mind started to work, his mind closed again, his gaze averted – was this… was this a bad idea? If he were to take charge, there was very little way that Veemon could hurt him, and maybe he could have Veemon feel and know what he meant by action. If his words weren’t getting across, maybe actually doing the thing would. It meant that he could set the pace of things, stop whenever a problem happened, let Veemon get used to things, let _himself_ get used to things – the sheer idea of having sex with a guy still brought some really stupid doubts to the back of his head.

It all came down to him actually treating Veemon with care and gentleness to make sure he got the point across, which would mean that he’d need to hold himself back as much as possible, something that… he’s had some issues with in the past. Gods, it really comes down to this, huh?

“…Please?” Veemon’s voice was meek, uncertain, but Davis gazed back to him for just a moment, the breathed in, especially as soon as he realized he’d have to do this _without proper lube_. “…Alright.” He replied, hugging Veemon as his ears did a little jump, a smile coming across his face as he blushed only a little bit. Davis ran his hand across Veemon’s back, touching only the tip of his fingers to the spikes on his back. “Just…” he smiled a little, “Let’s get in the mood first.”

Veemon raised one eyebrow in response, but Davis simply responded by pulling him in, placing his lips to the little dragon’s. When they touched, it was almost like relief washed over him, he didn’t realize how much he missed this sensation already, and it really hadn’t been that long. He pressed a little more into the kiss, caressing the dragon’s back as he felt Veemon’s own hand messing with his hair. He could feel the smile coming across both of their faces, the warm touch of Veemon’s lips and his hot breathing as addicting as his touch was.

Veemon pressed a little more into him, and Davis pulled back a little in response, feeling Vee press against his teeth in an uncomfortable way that he managed to mitigate. Heh, Veemon really wasn’t the best kisser, was he? That’s fine. He could still feel the little hand moving from his neck to his shoulder, rubbing against it a little, he could feel the thumb as it moved under his jacket, Veemon breaking the kiss and lowering his head a little.

Davis raised one of his hands, grabbing Veemon’s wrist with only a little strength. Veemon’s movement stopped, he looked up, surprised, but Davis only smiled a little, “I’m taking the lead here, remember?” he said, and Veemon let out a small sigh, still smiling, “…Sorry, guess I get carried away easily.”

Davis only smiled a little wider, he had to admit, the thought of Veemon getting carried away like this for _him_ was… appealing. Even despite his earlier anxieties, he could feel the little tent forming in his pants. Veemon raised his head a little more, pressing his lips against Davis’s again, and Davis returned the kiss, just as gentle and as passionate as before, pulling the little dragon back in with some strength, before holding him with both arms and pushing forward.

He laid down on top of Veemon, without ever breaking the kiss, pressing his head against the pillow as the dragon let out a sigh, breaking the kiss for just a second to breathe. Davis took this moment to move to his neck, giving it just a tiny kiss and a few nuzzles as he let Veemon go and started taking off the jacket himself. Veemon held him tightly, even as he kissed the dragon’s neck a second time, and tried licking it only once – Veemon let out a small moan, although he didn’t feel him shudder or do much else, which probably meant that this wasn’t one of his weak spots.

As he tossed his jacket aside, he raised one of his hands, his neck might not be a weak spot, but he knew one that was. His hand landed on one of Veemon’s ears, taking it gently in one hand and rubbing his thumb across it, he could feel the little dragon shiver only slightly under him, and with a smile, he pressed another kiss to his neck before raising his head and going for the other ear, pressing his lips against it first, then very gently nibbling it. Veemon lets out a gasp in response, and Davis smiles, that tent in his pants growing bigger and more needy.

After nibbling on it for a few more seconds, hearing Veemon’s soft moans in reaction, he stopped, pressed another kiss on top of the dragon’s head, and pulled back, reaching down his hands and taking off his shirt quickly, throwing it to the side of the bed.

As he used his arm to take balance again as he stayed on top of Veemon, he smiled to the little dragon, both of them already panting. Veemon’s hands raised a little, pressing against his shoulders a little strongly, before going to his chest, feeling the muscle beneath it. “…Y’know, I wasn’t lying before.” Veemon started, and Davis raised an eyebrow, “…I am glad you work out.” He smiled, showing his teeth a little bit as he pressed a bit harder against his chest, “…You’re a very handsome man, Davis.”

Davis smiled, saying the exact same thing back felt a little trite in these circumstances, so… “…You’re pretty hot yourself, Vee.” He replied. Vee’s hands pulled back only a little bit, his blush growing stronger as his eyes bulged out in both surprise and delight. For a moment, he didn’t seem to know how to respond, so Davis simply raised his head again, pressing a kiss against his forehead, then a quick peck on his lips, then one on his neck.

It became very obvious what he was going to do once he kissed Veemon’s chest, and he could feel Veemon’s legs opening up a little in response. He kissed his abdomen, then his belly, and finally, came to Veemon’s crotch, where he saw the smooth scales and not what he was looking for. He raised his head a little, lifting one eyebrow, and Veemon let out a little awkward laugh, scratching his cheek a little as his head turned to the side “Ah… yeah…” it wasn’t like Davis didn’t know, but getting him to blush and be awkward like this was so cute. “You gotta uh…”

Davis raised one hand, pressing it against his crotch, he rubbed his thumb against its very center, a move which lead to the dragon letting out a surprised gasp, “Like this?” he asked, still smiling, to which Veemon only narrowed his eyes a little, blushing. It’s not like he hadn’t asked the question before, so he at least knew the principle – Digimon dicks were hidden until they got stimulated enough or horny enough that they might actually use them. According to Veemon, it prevented… accidents.

He let his thumb rub on top of Veemon’s crotch for a few moments, before he felt the softer flesh start to touch against it. He tried to not really look at it as it revealed itself, instead looking at Veemon – partially because he wanted to see the blush in the little dragon’s face, partially because he remembered that the process actually looked a little weird. He ran his fingers a little against the head as it came up, working entirely through touch, and he could feel the wetness that hit his fingers as he did so.

As it grew a bit more, he started taking it more into his hand, stroking what came out as he raised his other hand and started to give Veemon little belly rubs, letting his fingers dig into his belly just a tad, the dragon letting out a long sigh of satisfaction. Veemon’s blush was almost gone now, and he was just letting himself moan and sigh to his heart’s content, a rather goofy smile on his face.

It fortunately didn’t take more longer for him to feel Veemon’s dick completely out of its hidden pouch, his balls having just revealed themselves alongside it. Davis took a very deep breath, and lowered his head, holding the now fully erect dick in his hand and in front of his face. It twitched once, and he used his thumb to gently pull back on the foreskin, seeing the more pinkish flesh of the tip as compared to the white of his underbelly. He raised his gaze, turning again to Veemon, who placed both of his hands on top of his chest, head raised just enough to look at Davis. Gods, he really was about to do this, wasn’t he?

He started gently caressing Veemon’s thigh with his other hand, averting his gaze only slightly, even as his fingers moved slightly across the Digimon’s member. “So… I’ve never done this before.” He exhaled a little, an awkward laugh, “Tell me if I do something wrong.” From the corner of his eyes, he looked to Veemon, and after a small chuckle, Veemon simply nodded, “Just be mindful of the teeth.”

Right, he knew that much.

He took a very deep breath, and lowered his head, placing it in between his thighs and right in front of the member that he was holding. It twitched once again while he adjusted his position, laying down on the bed proper and keeping his balance with his elbows. It took him a moment to remember what his girlfriends had done to him across the years, but the one that was freshest in his memory was what Veemon had done so… he started only by pressing his lips against the side.

He opened his mouth just slightly letting his tongue poke out as he moved slowly from the base, to the tip, and back. He could feel it throb and twitch in his hand as he did that, Veemon letting out a satisfied sigh as he did. Davis was puffing out his lips a little, and pressing his tongue a bit farther to make sure that he didn’t catch any teeth on Veemon’s dick – it really was a boner killer when that happened.

When he reached the tip once more, he allowed himself to press his lips against the head, pulling back the foreskin a bit more. When he pressed his tongue against it, he could feel a salty flavor come through, and he could hear Veemon let out a small moan as the dick throbbed one more time. He smiled to himself as he let his thumb run through it again, pressing his lips against the tip and suckling on it gently.

“Fuck… Davis…” Veemon let out, and Davis found himself using his left hand to pull down his own pants, his own erection growing so big that it was uncomfortable to leave it inside his pants anymore. Every little noise that Veemon made, from the sighs to the tiny moans, even the little twitching and throbbing of his dick made him more excited – fuck, was he having _fun_ by sucking a dick?

It didn’t take very long at all for him to find himself completely naked, having even taken the time to kick off his socks, but most of his concentration was on the work that he was doing, his lips gently suckling on the tip as he felt Veemon’s pre touch his tongue time and time again, was Veemon getting close? He let his lips go down the side of the head, touching the inside of Veemon’s foreskin and letting his tongue press against it a little, earning a much louder moan from the dragon – partially in surprise, but he smiled all the same as he felt another twitch in his mouth.

There was a part in the back of his mind that told him that he should probably stop at this point, but…

Davis lifted his head a little, still holding Veemon’s dick in his hand, but he looked towards the dragon as he felt another throb through his hand, “…You can cum multiple times, can’t you?” he asked, a small smile in his face. Veemon panted and sighed, but with eyes half closed, he wordlessly nodded, smiling and knowing full well what Davis intended.

Or at least, he thought he did.

Davis took a deep breath, and pressed both of his lips against the tip of Veemon’s dick again, and then pressed them a bit harder, opening them up and feeling it enter his mouth. He pressed his tongue a bit upwards, placing it between the flesh and his bottom teeth, and he opened his mouth wider, just in case. He could hear Veemon gasping, “D-Davis!” he let out, before another moan escaped his lips as the man went a bit further down, getting his jaw used to being like this a bit more.

He reached about halfway of Veemon’s length – probably not an impressive feat, all told – before pulling his head back up, and then slowly going down again. Veemon’s dick twitched with every time his tongue brushed against the underside of the tip, and he could feel the droplets of pre getting more and more frequent as he did. His rhythm was slow, and focusing on his breathing through the nose – especially the deep breaths that he had to take – was a little more difficult than he would like. It was in this that he couldn’t help but feel the small scent of sweat coming from Veemon, and for some reason, it didn’t bother him at all.

A part of him wanted to go faster, but the mere thought of brushing his teeth against Veemon’s dick completely killed that idea for him, so instead, he tried to put more of it in, little by little, inch by inch—

Veemon’s moaning came to his ears immediately, and he felt the small thrust as he felt the dick enter his throat, the hot liquid coming out of the tip hitting the back of his mouth and some of it going into his throat. He reflexively pulled back, taking the thing out of his mouth, and letting out small coughs. He could feel the warmness hitting his face as the moaning continued, loud, and then slowly lowering to more normal levels.

He was lucky that it wasn’t that bad, that Veemon hadn’t gone that deep and his coughing was more of surprise than anything, but still, he looked at the little dragon, seeing the shots of semen across his belly and the tiny pool that formed right on the tip as he held his head high, desperately trying to recover his breath. He narrowed his eyes a little, until “S-Sorry… sorry…” Veemon’s eyes were closed, he didn’t see Davis’s frown, “I… know I shouldn’t have it’s just… damn…” he laughed a little, “…you sure you never did this before?”

Davis allowed himself to smile a little, he couldn’t criticize Veemon for losing control a little, and he had already apologized so… he supposed it was okay. He expected Veemon to take a little longer to recover, but as the panting and sighing Digimon opened his eyes, he pushed himself into a sitting position on the bed, “And…”

Davis raised his head a little as the dragon approached, and when he did, he felt Veemon’s finger pass across his face, that little warmth on it vanishing as he did, he saw the semen on his finger for just a moment as he placed it inside of his mouth and then very quickly pressed his lips against the man’s. Almost at that exact moment, he felt Veemon’s tongue pressing against his lips, and in reflex he opened his mouth, pushing his own tongue to Veemon’s. In his surprise, he hadn’t even realized that he probably still had some of Veemon’s cum in his mouth, and he was certainly tasting it now as his tongue pushed against his partner’s, invading each other’s mouths in hunger and need.

When Veemon finally pulled back, he sheepishly blinked twice, and averted his gaze, “…Sorry, I know I said I’d let you lead but…” he smiled a bit wider, “…I wanted to do that last time too.”

Davis blinked twice, smiling, he wasn’t about to complain – especially if his dick throbbing nonstop was any indication, what Veemon had just done was _fucking hot._ He adjusted himself on the bed, getting up again, before Veemon lowered his gaze to in between his legs, “…You looking like you need some help here.” He let out, smiling. God he was so _corny_ , Davis couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Yeah… I suppose…” he took a deep breath, “Time for the real deal.” His gaze averted, he licked his lips a little, there was still that part of him that was scared of what would happen if he lost control, he had always been bad about that, and what that would say to Veemon if he did. He had to prove to Veemon – and gods, to himself – that he could do this, then maybe they could do this again in the future without risk of either of them getting hurt.

He smiled a little, what was he doing, already thinking of next time? Five minutes ago he was in disbelief over having fun sucking a dick. Ah, he was such a moron.

He shook his head, and turned back to Veemon, the little dragon smiling a little, seemingly patiently waiting for whatever he was going to do. “Alright...” he let out, crawling through the bed behind Veemon, and picking up the pillows – “What are you doing?” Veemon let out, and Davis smiled a bit more. He let one flat against the bed, as normal, then propped one up against the bedhead above it, before grabbing one more from the side, and turning to Veemon.

He put his arms below the dragon’s arms, and positioned himself, his back pressed against the propped up pillow right before he pulled Veemon onto his lap and pressed against his chest, before grabbing that third pillow and putting it between his head and the bedhead, laying his head on it to hold it in position. Good, this was comfortable enough.

He pulled Veemon a bit higher, almost to his level, and he could feel Veemon’s dick pressing against his belly as he did. Davis shifted his weight a little, pressing the tip of his dick against the base of the dragon’s tail. Veemon smiled, “Not what I was expecting but…” he raised his hips, and Davis could feel the tip of his dick pass in between his butt cheeks.

But Davis quickly pulled his hips back forward, a move that made the little dragon blink a few times in confusion, “Not yet, buddy.” Davis raised his right hand, letting his hips go for a second, “This is already not very ideal…” he sighed, before putting both his middle and index finger on his mouth, placing as much saliva as he could on it before pulling them out and continuing, “So I gotta stretch you out a bit first.”

He tilted his head a little, one eyebrow raised, but Davis did not give him enough time to say anything, instead lowering his hand, reaching below the dragon’s tail, and then poking around his entrance, something that immediately stole a surprised gasp from Veemon. He could feel the softer flesh as he took a moment to tease his butthole, placing a kiss on the dragon’s forehead as he did.

After a moment though, he started to put pressure on the entrance, little by little, he could feel the flesh give, and he felt his finger enter a little bit against the pressure that now squeezed him. He could feel Veemon’s hot breath getting stronger as he did, the little dragon nuzzling against the man’s chest and both of his arms reaching up to hug his neck. The squeeze was a bit stronger than he expected, and he let out a small sigh.

“…Breathe.” He stopped his movement to whisper softly in Veemon’s ear, he could feel the little shiver going through his body as he did. His other hand rubbing the dragon’s back gently, “Try to relax…” Veemon’s body had reflexively seized up when he went in, bracing itself for the discomfort, and as far as Davis knew, that was essentially what made the entire thing worse.

Granted, he couldn’t exactly speak from experience.

It took a while before he could hear Veemon exhale, and his body start to relax, and as he tried again to push a little further into him, he could feel his body start to tense up again. Davis took a deep breath, before raising his left hand to Veemon’s face. The dragon did not immediately respond, probably waiting for Davis to keep pushing in. He raised his head as Davis’s palm cupped his cheek, running his thumb on it. The dragon did not speak, although his breathing was accelerated, his eyes half-closed, and Davis, with a smile, asked, “Are you still sure you want to continue?”

Veemon nodded, without an ounce of hesitation, “Yeah…” he let out, and in that same moment, Davis lowered his head while he pulled Veemon a bit, touching his forehead to the dragon’s, “Then… I’m going to need you to relax, okay?” Davis’s voice was little more than a whisper, but he still tried his best to sound encouraging. It had been a very long time since he had done anything of the sort – gods, had he _ever_ tried to so hard to be gentle with someone? – but it, at least, drew a smile out of his blue partner.

He could feel Veemon’s body relaxing again, and as a precaution, he pressed his lips to the dragon’s. Veemon pressed back, although weakly, much more focused on his breathing through his nose than anything – that’s fine. When Davis pressed his finger further in, he found it a lot easier as the squeeze had become significantly weaker, and with only a little work, he managed to put his index finger up to the second knuckle.

He pressed against Veemon’s inner walls, slowly at first, and he found Veemon having to break the kiss to catch his breath for a few seconds, before pressing back against his lips. Even when he tried to rotate his finger slightly, Veemon did not seem to complain, his body didn’t tense up nearly as strongly as before.

When he tried for his middle finger, the little dragon’s body did seize up again, and he could feel his fingers getting squeezed hard enough that it actually hurt a little. Still, he only stopped his movement, and started caressing Veemon’s face, and once his body relaxed, he was able to place the second finger in without much issue.

He took his time exploring Veemon’s inner walls with both of his fingers, pressing them in each and every direction, partially to stretch him out, partially to get him used to it for the immediate future, he tried applying a bit more pressure at times, sometimes seeing no reaction, sometimes earning a bit of a sigh from the little dragon. But just as he was about to take them out—

“Ah!” Veemon let out a high-pitched moan, a gasp of surprise, forcibly breaking the kiss and laying his head against his shoulder. Davis stopped for just a second, letting him recompose himself, but he could also feel the heavy twitching that Veemon’s dick was doing against his belly, the little movements of his ears and the thumping of the tip of his tail against the bed. He pressed again, earning another little yelp from the dragon, a longer, slightly lower-pitched moan escaping his throat.

“…Do you want me to stop?” he whispered into his ear, and he could again feel the little shivers that ran through his body, “N-No… Just…” Veemon didn’t need to finish, as Davis pressed against the same spot a little harder, again earning a gasp from the dragon. As he slowly started to rub against it, and as Veemon’s body continued to react strongly – as his dick continued to move more and more, the wetness of the tip feeling even more prominent against his skin – and as his moaning became louder, he knew that he had found the little dragon’s prostate.

As he continued to rub his fingers through that same spot, he could feel Veemon holding him tighter, the little tiny thrusts he did against him skin – honestly, it tickled a bit – and he movements of his body, the little twitches of his ears, how his tail constantly thumped the bed as best it could, that high pitched moan that escaped his lips, the nuzzles and the rubbing of his face on his shoulder.

Except, after a few moments of this, Veemon let out a small whine, “Davis…” he turned up, his breathing still much heavier and hotter than normal, “…now you’re just teasing me…” he gazed into the man’s eyes with a soft smile, another, high-pitched moan escaping his lips, “…come on…” he finished, his eyes half open, but he did not look to be blushing, not even as he gently wiggled his hips.

Davis let a dry chuckle, before taking a deep breath and taking his fingers out of Veemon, earning another little whine out of the dragon. “Alright…” one hand holding Veemon’s upper body, the other holding tightly to his hip, Davis started to rub the tip of his dick in between his asscheeks. Veemon breathed in, rubbing his cheek against the man’s as he took on the same rhythm with his hips for just a few seconds, before Davis’s grip tightened around Veemon’s waist, and turning his face to the dragon just a little bit, he let out “…You ready?”

Veemon nodded, and Davis started to lower the little blue dragon he was holding. He felt himself prod at his entrance, and while it did take a little bit of effort, he felt himself enter. Goosebumps ran through his body as he did, a wave of pleasure coursing through his body in a way that gave him both relief and an even bigger need – he had ignored his own erection for so long already, no wonder he was so goddamn eager. He forced himself to slow down, gritting his teeth to prevent himself from thrusting immediately into Veemon.

A deep breath, two, he could feel the muscles of Veemon’s insides tense and relax, squeezing him slightly as they did, making it that much harder for him to keep control of himself. He let out a high-pitched sigh, but almost immediately heard the little whine coming from Veemon, the dragon nuzzling him and kissing his neck needily, wordlessly egging him to keep going.

He felt himself enter halfway quickly enough, before he heard Veemon let out a slightly higher moan. His body tried to keep going, another needy wave of pleasure coursing through him, and even though he knew he wanted to stop to give Veemon a few seconds, he also couldn’t find his strength to do it until a bit past the halfway point. Veemon’s breathing was very heavy and accelerated at this point, and his own panting was starting to reach his ears, his deep breaths and gritted teeth the only thing stopping himself from going as strongly as possible.

Veemon’s grip tightened around him, his needy nuzzles started again even as his breathing had grown higher-pitched, Davis tried his best to not just slam him down all the way, instead going in as slowly as his neediness allowed. When he did finally enter all the way – something which he’d only much later be impressed by, considering Veemon’s size – he allowed himself a sigh, a sigh of relief as yet another wave of pleasure washed over him.

He had stopped, hilted deep inside of Veemon, and the little dragon’s grip only tightened more. Davis let out a small moan just as Veemon did, right before he said – “…Are you okay?” his voice likely sounded a little strained, but Veemon seemed too preoccupied to notice. “Yeah…” his voice was softer, his panting only slightly more controlled, and he could feel the heat from Veemon’s body grow stronger as his claws dug a bit into his skin, “It’s just…” he started to wiggle his hips, Davis closed his eyes, “…it’s been a bit.”

Almost immediately afterwards, Veemon started to move his hips, slowly at first, what little relief Davis had felt replaced entirely by a pulse throughout his body screaming at him to just start fucking _moving._ Even as he gritted his teeth and closed his eyes with strength, it was an almost unbearable need, it only got worse every time he felt Veemon’s breath hit his back, the little scratches he did with his claws as he moved, every tiny moan, every needy sigh; he could feel Veemon’s tail partially wrap around his thigh, he could feel the little nuzzles the Digimon gave him as he moved, and with each and every little thing, the need grew and grew.

It was when Veemon gave that tiniest of bites into his neck, sending shivers and goosebumps all throughout his body, that Davis couldn’t hold himself back anymore.

He felt himself thrust upwards, a louder gasp mixed with a high-pitched moan escaping Veemon’s throat as he did, his movements were immediate, quick, the sound of his thighs smacking against Veemon’s ass loudly filled the room, as his own moaning became uncontrollable. Veemon pushed back from him, only to pull him into a very deep kiss, their tongues invading each other’s mouths in hungry need.

He could feel all of his muscles tensing up, each and every thrust a new wave of pleasure that pleaded with him to keep going. He wasn’t going to last long, not at this rate, and when he finally allowed himself to notice Veemon’s dick rubbing against him again, his left hand reached in between them, grabbing and stroking it as strongly as every single one of his thrusts. Neither of them were trying to be quiet, their moans only muffled by their needy and passionate kiss, their tongues still pushing against each other, caring little for the few times he could feel Veemon’s teeth pushing against him.

It was a blur of motion and passion, he could’ve spent seconds or years in that exact moment, and he would not have noticed the difference. After trying so hard to hold himself back, every thrust felt better than the last, and yet every thrust left him wanting more, goosebumps and shivers only beat out by the shared heat of their bodies, the hungry kiss and the frenzied movements of his hips.

So enamored and lost in the moment that he was, that it caught him by surprise – when he felt it building up inside of him, he only started to go harder and harder, practically ramming Veemon’s ass with all the strength this position could allow him. When the kiss broke and he felt himself start to cum, he moaned loudly, only instinctively pushing his mouth against Veemon’s neck to try and muffle it, but even that combined with the squeaking of the bed wasn't enough to fully mask his noise.

When he was finished, when he felt himself empty, when his orgasm was finally done, he let his head fall back, his breathing mixed in with high pitched sighs as he pulled Veemon into his chest, now both keenly aware of the sweat covering his body, and yet feeling way too drained to care about it right now. He could feel the little pumps and the moans that came from below him, Veemon’s thrusting into his hand as he could feel the pulsing in his dick, the warm cum that hit his belly as he did, each thrust just as needy as the last.

Veemon finished quickly, and allowed himself to collapse on Davis’s chest, his head sideways, fighting for air. The room was filled with nothing but the sounds of the two men breathing, but despite his predicament, Davis could still feel the dragon’s tail squeeze his thigh, his little claws dig a little into his skin as he held his shoulders.

Who knows how long it took for him to speak? “Are… are you okay?” the horniness finally taken care of, now his rational mind was allowed to work again, and it immediately started to worry, “I… went too hard I’m—”

“N-No… it’s… it’s okay...” Veemon caught him by surprise when he started, he raised his head up, looking Davis in the eyes, and despite his labored breathing, he smiled, “That… was fantastic…”

His worried were not fully assuaged, but he still felt himself grabbing the little dragon’s cheek and pulling him into another kiss. Their breathing was strong through their noses, and neither of them pressed too strongly into it as they recovered. But he could feel the happiness as Veemon squeezed his shoulders, and for just a second, he allowed himself to smile.

When the kiss finally broke, their breathing was already a lot more controlled, and Veemon pulled himself upwards. Davis felt his dick flop out of Veemon, already going limp, and Veemon rolled to the side, onto the bed, moving to snuggle up to Davis, smiling all the while. He let out a contented little moan, his eyes closing as he did.

Davis let himself pet Veemon for a moment, until he saw Veemon take a very deep breath, a contented sigh escaping his lips, and with a small snort, he said, “You’re not going to sleep are you?”

Veemon’s ears perked up in response, his eyes opened slightly, “Are we… not done?” there was a little mischievous smile on his face as he asked that, starting to pull himself upwards by his elbow, but Davis smiled back, “Oh no, we’re very much done.” He answered.

Right as Veemon raised an eyebrow in confusion, Davis put both of his arms below Veemon’s, lifting him, “Now comes the thing we should’ve done last time.” He got up from the bed, holding Veemon in front of him as he did. Veemon let out an inquisitive “Hm?” before Davis answered, “We’re taking a goddamn shower.”

Veemon pouted, “Davis… it’s probably already late… and I’m tired…” his voice was whiny, “Let’s go to sleep…”

Davis did not turn to look to Veemon, “I don’t care what time it is, _I’m not waking up to dried cum on my body again._ ”

As he pushed the bathroom door open, Veemon sighed, “Can we at least have a bath then?” he let out, “That way we can at least relax.” Davis chuckled a little under his breath, but as he placed Veemon down on the bathroom floor, he went for the jacuzzi again, wordlessly filling it up. “Thanks…” Veemon sounded a little grumpy, but he at least wasn’t trying to run away.

The tub fills quickly enough, although the little dragon grumpily sits there waiting, occasionally shifting his gaze towards the door, before crossing his arms and going back to waiting. Once the tub is filled with warm water, Davis picked up the dragon once again, settling him down inside of it. He sat down on one of the corners, while Veemon first tried to sit down inside of it, before realizing that it placed his head very uncomfortably close to the water, before he took on a kneeling position.

Davis, in turn, took the dragon in his arms again and placed him down on his lap, letting the dragon sit down comfortably and relax, although he made sure to make him sit sideways, as he really wasn’t up for a round two tonight. Veemon smiled a bit, leaning his head on Davis’s chest and using it as his pillow, before Davis hugged the dragon tightly, a hesitant smile on his face.

And now that they were there, he couldn’t help but sigh, “…Sorry for going rough on you.” he let out, but Veemon immediately shook his head, “I told you, it’s fine.” He giggled a bit, “That wasn’t exactly the roughest night I’ve ever had.” His giggle faded into a wider smile, his growing a slight shade of red, “…not by a long shot. In fact, it was…” he closed his eyes, nuzzling the man’s chest, “…pleasant.”

Davis smiled a bit wider, “So… do you get what I mean, now?” he asked, running his fingers through the scales on Veemon’s back, and the dragon nodded a little bit, “I… think I get the idea, yeah.” He continued, “Although you’ll… probably have to coach me a bit on the specifics.” A small chuckle escaped his lips.

“Well… the good news is that usually lube’s involved, so it takes a lot less.” Davis raised his head a bit, raising his hand to his hair and ruffling it, even as it grew wet from the water, “…Speaking of which, I think we might be going out tomorrow. Remind me to actually grab some lube while we’re out, please.”

Veemon raised his head, his eyes only half open with a mischievous smile, “…You almost sound like you’re already thinking of next time.” He said, and Davis, looking back to him, smiled back, “…I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t.” he squeezed Veemon a little, and Veemon giggled a bit under his breath.

“Maybe next time I can give you an anal orgasm then.” He raised his hand to boop Davis on the nose, although Davis pulled back a bit, he was unable to escape it. Still, he blinked a few times, “…I’m sorry, a what?”

Veemon’s eyes opened a bit more, a giant grin crossing his face, “Oh, do you not know what these are?” his voice turned excited, his little hands clapping together above the water, “Oh man, you and I are going to have _fun_ together. Those are _mindblowing._ ”

Davis blinked twice at the sheer glee in the dragon’s face, before letting out a small sigh, “Y’know, Vee.” He ran his fingers through the back of Veemon’s head, chuckling under his breath, “I haven’t thought of you as innocent in a long time but…” the chuckling grows a bit louder, “Man, I’m still amazed and surprised at your level of sexual experience.”

“Well…” Veemon turned his gaze a little, “…I did have a new experience tonight, thanks to you.” he exhaled a bit strongly, still smiling, and Davis did the same thing, “What, you going to tell me that all the previous times your partners just went in raw on you, full force?”

Veemon swayed his head from side to side a little, “Eh… Not exactly but… kind of?” he continued, and Davis’s eyes both bulged out a little, a small grimace of both confusion and worry, gods, what kind of sex did this guy _have?_

“It’s just uh…” Veemon did not turn to him before continuing, “Well… you know those little… confirmations you kept asking me?” a pause, “Like, when you kept asking if I was okay?” it was only then that he turned his head upwards again, to look at Davis, and Davis slowly nodded, still blinking in confusion, “…Yeah, that’s called consent.”

“And uh… those times you asked me to relax and kept trying to get me to relax?” the dragon asked, and again, Davis nodded slowly, “…Yeah, pretty sure that’s just called care.” There was a small pit of morbid curiosity and dread growing into his stomach as to where Veemon was going with this.

“Well uh… I’ve never really had that before.” The Digimon continued, gazing a little to the side, as if thinking or remembering something, “When I bottomed for someone it was like… if they did something I really didn’t like, I’d push their hand away or something.” He blinked twice, “…And if they where causing me discomfort, I’d kind of just bear it for the pleasure?”

Davis let out an exasperated sigh, raising his head again and feeling the palm of his hand collide against his forehead, a loud sound going throughout the bathroom in response, “…No fucking wonder you hurt me then!” he let out a little annoyed grunt, raising his hand to the air as he opened his eyes gain, “You’ve been having bad sex your whole life!”

“…Is it really bad sex if I enjoyed it?” Davis turned his face down again, looking into Veemon’s tilted head of confusion, “We’re not having this conversation again.” He replied, and Veemon’s eyes narrowed just a bit, his expression turning into a pout, “ _Fine._ ”

His expression stayed like that for a few seconds, before he let out a small sigh as he pressed his forehead to the man’s chest again, “Still…” he exhaled a little through his nose, his body relaxing heavily on top of him. “The only time I got anything even remotely close to tonight was…” a little pause as he raised his head, “…Well, when I had sex with Guilmon.”

Davis blinked again, “…Wait, you had sex with Guilmon?” to which the blue dragon could only look to him with a confused look on his face, “We’re best of friends, of course we’ve had sex.”

His expression did not leave his face, and Veemon only tilted his head further in response, “…Davis.” He started, blinking and raising both eyebrows, “…Are you jealous?”

Davis blinked a few times, “…Maybe a little?” he started, “I don’t know what I’m feeling right now. Mostly just confusion, I think.” He tried a little awkward smile, but Veemon did not reciprocate. It was weird to think of Veemon having sex with any of the others – although maybe this was just because the thought of Veemon having sex _at all_ hadn’t really crossed his mind until recently. The mand did have a myriad of questions to ask of him, but in his confusion, the first one that came out was “…Have you fucked any of the others?”

“…Yeah?” Veemon only looked more confused, as if he didn’t understand the question, or as if the answer were obvious. “Agumon, Hawkmon, Gomamon and Wormmon.” He let out, he lowered his head a little, his mouth opened as if he was going to continue, but Davis’s expression relaxed as he chuckled, “Okay, you’re bullshitting me – _Wormmon?”_

“Yeah.” Veemon replied, plainly, “It was only once, but I indulged him for a night.” He continued, and Davis’s lips turned into a thin smile as he frowned, “How would that even _work?”_

It was then that Veemon smiled a bit more, that mischievous expression returning to his face as his hands raised to his shoulders, “Oh, it was a very tiring evening, to be sure.” He started, “But it was a very… unique experience.” And his smile turned into a grin, “That sticky thread he makes can put you in some _compromising_ positions.” He raised both eyebrows to punctuate the word, and Davis immediately felt himself grow a little hotter, “Wait, no, please—” he started, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose, “I-I don’t really want details.”

“Aww, but you’re so _cute_ when you blush!” The little dragons replied, chuckling all the while, and Davis simply let out a long, dejected sigh, “So… does that mean you’ve fucked everyone?” he asked, and mercifully for him, Veemon did not seem to catch his obvious attempt to change the subject, or was done teasing him for the moment, “No, not everyone.” He started to reply, his eyes turning upwards, again, trying to remember something, “Not Tentomon, or Armadillomon, or Terriermon.” He blinked again, “Or Patamon, for that matter.”

“I notice you’re only talking about the guys here.” Davis smiled a little, to which Veemon pouted, “Well – not exactly many girls on the group.” He replied, “And somehow I don’t think Renamon wants anything to do with…” the blinked a few times, frowning a little, “…Anyone, honestly.”

Davis smiled a bit harder, “What, so next you’re going to tell me about how you’ve slept with Gatomon?” that question was a joke, although he wasn’t expecting Veemon to shake his head and give him a proper answer, “Nah.” He started, smiling, “Not Gatomon. She’s a very committed woman.” He looked back at Davis, “I mean, Patamon might not mind, but I know she does, and frankly, so do I.” he did sway his head a little bit more, still smiling, “Did have some time with Biyomon and Palmon though, those were interesting experiences.”

And almost as quickly as he started smiling, his expression grew a little more sullen, a little more concerned, “Are… you okay with this?” Veemon asked, his voice just a little awkward as Davis’s eyebrow rose, “I mean… now that you and I are boyfriends…” he pursed his lips a little, “…Are you okay with me sleeping with other people?”

“You don’t seem very happy with the idea.” Davis replied, looking at the way Veemon scratched his own cheek, “I mean, it’d mean I’d have to go back on at least one promise.” Davis raised both eyebrows at the response, although Veemon did not look at him as he spoke, “But… I’m fine if you want me to be fully committed to you.” he blinked a few times, “I wouldn’t be unhappy if you asked me to.” He finally looked at Davis, although only from the corner of his eyes.

Davis’s eyes gazed away from Veemon, he had never been a particularly jealous person… well okay, not after he actually grew up into adulthood, and that was probably _because_ he had been such a jealous fuck in his early years. The idea of the few girlfriends he had actually having sex with other people never really crossed his mind, something that did burn him exactly once, that had been a messy breakup.

Still, this wasn’t just a situation where he had no real reason to think that was happening, this was practically a situation where he knew it would, eventually, somewhere down the line, happen – unless he asked Veemon to not do it. Veemon was a very loyal friend – he had proven as much in all the time they spent together – and Davis knew he’d be just as much of a loyal partner, actual betrayal and cheating were never something he’d do, so it all came down to the question of _was he okay with the idea?_

Thinking about the possibility of him having sex with any of the others didn’t really bother him, or at least, not in the immediate term, and plus, if Veemon had already promised someone, he’d have to break that promise, and Davis knew all too well how much Veemon hated breaking promises, even if it was for good reasons.

But those were all _logical_ reasonings, and this wasn’t really a situation where logic mattered, it was purely emotional, and in that sense… Davis didn’t really know how to respond.

And so, with a heavy sigh, he started, “…Let’s give it a few months.” He turned to Veemon, who now turned slowly towards him in earnest, “See how I feel about it.” He smiled, “But… my initial feelings aren’t negative, at least.”

Vee smiled back, nodding, “Alright.” He replied, “I… guess I’ll tell you whenever it happens, then.” He started, “So you can tell me to stop if you want me to.”

Davis blinked a few times, a tiny, awkward smile appearing in his face, and he could feel his face growing a bit hotter, “…You’d really be okay with that?” he asked, “I mean… I’m not saying I’m going to, but if I did ask you to not have sex with other people, would you be okay with that?”

Veemon smiled, getting just a little closer, “Yeah.” He replied, “I mean, I’m not exactly having sex every day, so it wouldn’t make much of a difference in my life.” He continued, “…Really, the only part that’d sting would be that I’d have to break a promise to Guilmon, although I’m sure he’d understand.” His face grew closer, his forehead touching Davis’s, “But… if it’s what you wanted, then I’d be okay with it.” Even he was blushing a little now, “…Sex might be good, but I wouldn’t trade this for anything.”

It was almost a reflex when their lips touched again, Veemon’s embrace going to his neck and squeezing him tightly, just as Davis’s arms pulled the little dragon in closer, he could feel the smile in Veemon’s face, he little gentle caressing he gave his hair, the little happy sways of his tail below the water. The kiss did not last long, but once they pulled away, Davis could so clearly see the affection and the love in Veemon’s eyes, that innocent desire to just see both of them happy together, regardless of everything else. In a way, it wasn’t any different than what they already had for each other mere days prior.

And in other ways, it was a completely new feeling, one that Davis would cherish and embrace for all of the awkwardness and the anxiety and the doubts and the potential hardships that it could create. He had no fucking idea where this relationship was going to be in ten years, in five years, in one year, or even in just three months, but he was very, very excited to find out.

“…I love you, Vee.” He said, caressing the little dragon’s cheek as he did, and Veemon, still smiling, simply replied – “I love you too, Davis.”

Davis then took a very deep breath, looked Veemon back in the eyes, and poked him on the chest with just enough force to push him back a little, “But if you ever make a joke about me gagging on your dick, I’ll strangle you.”

Veemon immediately broke into a mock pout, “Aww, I was saving that one for tomorrow!” he replied, to which Davis shook his head, smiling, “You ass.” Veemon started to chuckle happily in response. “Now, how about we _actually_ clean ourselves up?”

December 25th, 2025  
3:32AM

Y’know, thinking back on it, I wasn’t fully sure if I meant what I said there. There was always that lingering doubt in the back of my mind that I _would_ regret fully committing to a relationship. It was a bit of an ugly thought for me, admittedly, but I couldn’t really help the thoughts and the anxieties – something Davis and I apparently share a lot of.

After we got cleaned up and went to bed, the next day was fairly uneventful, and really, compared to all that happened in the first few days, so was the rest of the vacation. Davis did end up buying the lube the next day, although I really wasn’t much in the mood after apologizing to the others. None of them really gave me much grief for it, especially not after I explained why I ended up going to Machine Pit in the first place, but just the process of going to each one and apologizing had left me drained for the rest of that day – in hindsight, I probably didn’t need to make sure to apologize to everyone literally the day after, but it did assuage whatever fears were in my mind at the time, so I guess it worked out.

Over the course of the vacation, I did manage to talk to everyone I had been missing, Wormmon had started trying to weave his sticky nets into something approaching art. He wasn’t ready to show me anything he had made at the time, but he seemed very enthusiastic about it. Hawkmon had taken up singing, although admittedly it was hard for him to practice, but I did get to hear him sing, and honestly, he wasn’t half-bad.

I was sad to hear that Armadillomon had been in as much of a rut as I had been for a long time, although he did say that the vacation had allowed himself to sort of… refocus and recover. I’ve spent as much of the time as I could with him, and last I heard, he had taken up to learning a bit of law from Cody, something which, in his own words, “made him equally delighted and frustrated”. Davis told me this is normal for lawyers.

Davis himself did end up taking a day off with the members of Omega, although I didn’t have as much of an opportunity to spend with them. I found it a little odd then how I didn’t see BlackGuilmon or Eve throughout the entire vacation, but I probably should’ve realized it was because they were taking care of Sacchi, who took over two weeks of recovery to get back to normal. Davis and Elsword seemed to at least get along quite well, from what he told me, although I don’t think he has talked to the redhead ever since the vacation ended.

That lube that Davis bought didn’t get used until we were already back home, and certainly not on the same day we were both suffering from extreme jet lag, but when the two of us had the time and the energy, Davis placed the new bottle alongside the two other ones he had. I still remember the dumb face he made once he took his stash under the bed and simply said “I completely forgot about the condoms”. I remember not being particularly worried, although he made me call Guilmon to fully assuage his fears – and even then, he still wasn’t comfortable not wearing those things for a few weeks.

Still remember his expression when I finally did give him that anal orgasm though, we haven’t done it again since, but he did admit it was an experience he was very glad to have gone through, even if I still tease him endlessly about it. Heh.

Once things settled down back into normal life, I very quickly had to learn to wake up early by myself, something I’ve learned is _really hard to do_ , even with six alarms set to wake me up. Davis took the job with Takato on the bakery, and from what he tells me, the job is both more and less demanding than his last one, but he’s having a lot of fun and he seems to be getting paid about the same as before too, so he’s much happier now.

It did end up meaning that, for a very long time – and still occasionally – I showed up to work hours late. I still remember my surprise when Gatomon did not, in fact, chew me out on it, something I’m still very glad for.

Rules for things would change significantly, as Gatomon explained to me, since we were very few and had to cover _the entire Digital World_ , she had to spread us very thin – no more. Patrol would always be done with a buddy, whereas Search & Destroy missions would always be of a party of three or more – and only Champions, no Ultimates, although we were already not allowed to engage Megas. Patrol routes became a lot shorter and more focused, and I found myself regularly spending less than eight hours of each day working – ‘course, since I start work late so often, that doesn’t always mean I make it back before nightfall, but it does mean I at least get to spend the evening with Davis and Jun.

This did cause a few issues at the start, with important things being missed in patrols regularly, although it did seem to assuage somewhat when Izzy started to work as Gatomon’s assistant, covering whatever holes her planning had left in. I think it was also around that time that we started doing scavenging missions, grabbing weird fruit, berries and bark from the forests, and other such weird things from other places – I remember being asked to literally just pick up the sand from the desert once, that was… an experience.

I can’t say how much faster, slower or smoother the actual cleanup efforts are going, although I can say that everyone is generally in better spirits when it comes to work, I’ve yet to hear a genuine complaint from anyone I’ve worked with in these past few months, the worst I’ve gotten is “it’s not nearly as much as it used to be”.

I also remember, one month ago, running into Sacchi again, the first time since that day in Machine Pit. I struck a conversation with him, and even with BlackGuilmon, since they were going to work together that day – from the conversation, I got the impression that they do that almost every day – but I also remember getting some very vague and cagey answers from him, with him only assuring me that he was okay, and apologizing for vanishing for two straight years. I get the feeling he isn’t very happy being back.

And there’s also—

“PLAYER ONE WINS!”

I blink a few times, pouting as I see the bored face of Davis’s character on screen as his victory screen plays. Davis turns to me, smiling, and I turn my pout to him, “I do believe I win this first-to-ten, Vee.” He replies, smugly holding his controller upwards.

“I was spacing out.” I say, still pouting, “I want a rematch, that last one didn’t count.”

“If you were spacing out that’s your fault!” he continues, chuckling, “I still win.”

“You’re only scared of a rematch because I was at nine wins.” I grin back at him, and he simply replies by chuckling again, “I’m not falling for _that_ , Vee.”

I open my mouth to retort, but I can hear a knock on the door, both of us turn to it as it opens, the spiky, big red hair is the first thing I see. Jun walks in already on her pajamas, smiling, “You two lovebirds doing alright?” she asks, she’s been in a good mood since I pointed out to Gatomon that it was kind of… bad-looking (I wanted to say shitty, but didn’t) that Davis was given the Data Saving treatments to turn him back to his twenties, but his sister wasn’t. She ended up picking her late twenties when she went through it, and fortunately, most of her old clothes still fit her well enough. “Yeah, we’re good sis.” Davis replies, and I give her a nod in response.

“Well, you two try not to stay awake all night, alright?” she asks, “I know none of us works tomorrow, holidays and all, but it’s probably not the best idea for us to start waking up _too_ late.” She then turns to me, “Or at least, later than one of us already does.”

“You really started getting on my case about this after you got a job.” I pout to her, “I preferred it when you didn’t.” she lets out a cocky grin, “And that, Veemon, is exactly why I do it.” She crossed her arms, still grinning, “If you think I’m going to fuck with my brother and not you, you’re sorely mistaken.”

I chuckle a little loudly, then shake my head, “You going to sleep, then, sis?” Davis asks, getting up, and she nods, “Yeah, was about to.” She answers, and without any other delays, she turned around, raising her hand in a goodbye wave, “Good night you loud fucks, merry Christmas!” she shut the door behind her, leaving the two of us alone again.

Davis shook his head before getting up from the bed, going to the console and turning it off. He lifts his hand, asking for my controller, and I give it to him as he puts both of them on the drawer. “I guess it’s best we sleep too.” He says, and I look up towards the clock, “Yeah, it’s already three thirty in the morning.”

Davis looks up quickly, before letting out a dejected sigh, “…Damn, I completely lost track of time.” He laughs a little, going to his closet to pick out his clothes. He’s never been shy about undressing in front of me, although in these last few months, I can’t really help but stare, he’s kept up his training routine, and his muscles have become more defined in these last few months, and sometimes, when he does that little arc of his back, or when he bends just a little too much, I get the idea that he’s showing off for me.

Of course, sometimes, such as when he turns to me right as he finishes dressing again, with that mischievous look on his face, I know it’s intentional. “You’re not exactly very subtle, Davis.” I tell him, a wide smile on my face, and he laughs a little, “Sometimes I am, sometimes I’m not trying to be.” He smiles back, before he climbs back in the bed with me, pulling in the heavy blankets on top of us – winter has been pretty cold, but snuggling up to him has made each night more pleasant than the last.

As he raises his hand to turn off the lights and I push myself up to his chest, I turn towards him, “The way you talk, it’s almost like you want a quickie.” I say, knowing full well that he’s not in the mood – he’s very obvious when he is. “Nah, not today.” He pulls me a little tighter with the hug, “…How about on new year’s though? Y’know, starting off the year with a bang?” he smiles a little, and I giggle under my breath – I’m not even sure if he’s noticed the pun, but I think I’ll let it slide, at least until new year’s comes around.

“Yeah, that sounds like a good idea.” I reply, closing my eyes as I hear him give out a strong, loud yawn, “Mmmmyeah…” Davis pulls me up a bit, and I raise my head as he gives me a quick peck on the lips, “Good night, Vee.” He lets out, “Love you.”

I lay my head on the pillow comfortably, drifting off into sweet sleep, “You too, Davis.”


	14. Closure

# \- Another Side, Another Story -

## Verse 1: Closure

_A world ravaged by war.  
Wounds reopen as the curtain calls._

September 9th, 2025  
8:55PM, Brasilia Time

Back then, he thought he’d already gotten used to this. To skulking around in the shadows, walking in unfamiliar streets of familiar cities, silence as cold as death all around him. To people he never met and would never meet around him, practically background objects to the task at hand. He still found himself gazing around for escape routes – a possible building to climb, a narrow passageway on which to lose a potential pursuer, a darkness just a little deeper than normal.

It was scary at how familiar this feeling was, of always being on the job, how easy it came back to him. But it was even scarier at how unfamiliar everything around him was, destroyed pavement and houses, debris and destruction that had never been cleared, lampposts missing, some uprooted from their bases, others still tipped to the side, distorted and mangled beyond repair – he could even see what looked like a footprint around one, where it clearly had been stepped on. Even in the bigger picture, when he looked up, to the easily identifiable landmarks, he saw none of them, few tall buildings, even fewer that he could potentially recognize, at most a dim memory at the back of his mind.

And of course, the empty street, not a single car having shown signs of passage recently, not a single person around, even in one of the so-called “cities that never sleep”. Had his home city changed so much?

Sacchi breathed in deeply, finally approaching the old house he was looking for, an old, two-story thing with two windows next to the front door. Despite the destruction around it, it looked remarkably intact – the yellow paint on the outside looked old and definitely worn, and what was probably a suspended balcony to the left of the entrance had been clearly destroyed, the resulting debris having been neatly stacked on the side of the house.

Unlike every other house or apartment in this street, the lights were on. Someone was home.

Sacchi took off the hoodie, deactivating its stealth module, and breathed in heavily. His heart sunk as he raised his hand and knocked, once, twice, and a strong third time. When his hand lowered, he noticed it was trembling, anxiety and anticipation, knowing what was about to come, knowing what he was about to do.

Knowing the ending that he was about to bring.

It took a few moments, but from the corner of his eye, he could see a shadow looking outside, at him. The shadow vanished, and what felt like an eternity passed – an eternity, or just a few seconds? – before the sounds of the door opening came through.

When it opened, he could see it again, that same familiar visage he had grown accustomed to. The short, frizzled, unkempt hair, the strong brown eyes, the two thick eyebrows that constantly threatened to become just one, the short beard that was immaculately kept, the tan skin only barely lighter than his own. His clothes were red today, a simple shirt with completely ripped sleeves, shorts that looked too old to be worn in any polite situation, black half socks with no shoes. His eyes watered even as he frowned, even as he held the door open, looking at Sacchi in a mix of disappointment and disbelief, but it was him.

It was Victor.

“You can’t keep doing this.” The man started, breathing in deeply to fight back the tears that started to form, one hand going to clean them, “You _can’t keep doing this._ ”

“I know.” Sacchi replied, unwilling to meet his gaze, “…I’m not here to get you back.” He closed his eyes, a deep breath failing to disguise the fact that his breathing was broken, trembled. “...I’m here to give both of us closure.”

“Closure?” Victor asked, his tone more inquisitive than anything, but he shook his head, exhaling strongly, “Sacchi…” he closed his eyes strongly, that little bite of his lip he did whenever he was trying to control his emotions from going haywire, whenever he was trying to keep himself from screaming, “You coming back here is like…” a small sob, both of his hands moving to clear off the tears now, “…Like opening an old wound that had already healed.”

“I’m sorry.” Sacchi replied, finally looking back to him, his eyes bulging out slightly, “I’m sorry.” He repeated, feeling himself biting on his own lip in turn, “…I’m sorry for being so selfish.”

Victor shook his head, taking another deep breath to look back at him, “You’re not selfish for wanting to be honest.” He started, Sacchi turned away again. _My honesty is only making you cry._ He thought, _Had I never come here, you would have never known, the wound would never have reopened._

“So.” Victor starts again, “What _happened_ these last two years?” he could see Victor’s gaze trying to be stern, trying to be angry, but failing, always coming back to that old half smile of empathy and understanding, always coming back to that slight frown of disappointment, rather than anger. Even then, the unspoken question hung in the air, the part that Victor would never ask directly, but that Sacchi could hear loudly all the same –

_Why did you break your promise?_

“I ran away.” Sacchi started, there was a tightness in his chest as he admitted this, this tightness that almost made it hard to breathe, “I… ran away. Someplace far. Someplace away from all of this.” He shook his head, “I saw how the world ended, how… how much death and destruction the war had left behind, how…” he gulped down, another lump forming in his throat, “…how much my old life had changed.” It was the closest to the truth he could bring himself to say out loud. “And… I wanted a new start. A new life.” He closed his eyes, “…a life away from this one.”

The silence hung in the air for a moment, Sacchi’s breathing his only companion inside of his own head, a thousand scenarios raced around in his mind, of Victor chastising him, of Victor leaving, closing the door, telling him to never come back, of Victor punching him as he did in the few times Sacchi had really angered him. He knew his excuse was pathetic, he knew that he shouldn’t have run away, he knew—

“I don’t blame you.” Victor replied, and Sacchi raised his head to see the man gently massaging his own forehead, “…Frankly, if I had the option, I would’ve run away too.” He continued, looking back to Sacchi, the frown was gone, showing only the sympathy and the concern, “…And the stuff I was dealing with…” his gaze turns upward, “…was only a fraction of what you were.”

Victor leaned on the doorframe, letting his head rest, closing his eyes, head still turned upward, “…Things were rough back then.” He replied, “When you didn’t reply to my messages, things… things got very bleak.” He shook his head, “I remember being in denial, I remember pushing those thoughts to the back of my head, as far as I could, every single one of my waking moments was spent taking care of my uncle.” He breathed in deeply, “…That… only lasted a week. Uncle didn’t last very long.” Sacchi could see his body trembling, even as his voice continued steady.

He opened his eyes, gazing down the street, looking at what few lampposts still functioned, “There was no funeral, his body was thrown into the mass graves, just… another victim of the situation.” He blinked a few times, “…The only respite that came was when I learned that both of my parents were dead in one of the attacks.” He let out a small “heh”, “…I remember thinking some really nasty shit back then, how I was getting respite out of something a war this terrible did.” He blinked a few more times, lowering his head, “…and yet nature itself took the only person that ever took care of me like a father.”

“I think… it was around that time that I… accepted your death.” He looked back to Sacchi, “I grieved, you know? I grieved a lot for you. It was this… raw pain in my chest.” His gaze lowered, “…I remember going to one of the shelters and just… lying in bed all day, weeping in my misery.” He shook his head, “…I didn’t even learn that the war had ended and you guys had won until a full month afterwards.”

Another deep breath, “…The last two years have been a blur.” He replied, “It’s only recently that things have been getting… livable.” He smiled a little, “I went from shelter to shelter, being a scavenger for a long time, until I found this house.” He turns back towards it, a prideful smile appearing across his face, “It was mostly intact, the balcony—” he pointed towards it with his head, “—was the only real damage.” He laughed a little, “…I’m even lucky enough to have found a home with electricity, water _and_ internet still working!” a sigh, “…I guess there’s a silver lining to the sheer chaos that is everywhere. They haven’t even realized the evacuated areas are still getting amenities.”

He took a step out onto the small porch, onto the sidewalk, and as Sacchi’s gaze followed him, he pointed to an apartment complex about two streets down, its top chopped off, but otherwise standing. “You see that building?” he asked, “It doesn’t have amenities, but it still has furniture.” He smiled, “…I’ve been scavenging for furniture for the last eight months around here. Even managed to cannibalize some PCs to make a decent rig.” He turned around to Sacchi, that bitter smile still on his face, “I even managed to find a working bike.” He blinked a few times, lowering his gaze, “…Enough homes were abandoned that I was able to find everything I needed and then some.”

Victor walked back towards the house, leaning again on the doorframe, Sacchi remembered how he had that habit, always leaning on things, he always wondered whether he even noticed. “…And as you can imagine, I’ve been working freelance as a programmer to pay for food.” He exhaled a little strongly, “Life… hasn’t been easy. It’s been very difficult.” He turned back to Sacchi, “But I’m glad to live it.”

And yet, that bitter smile was still there, that pain and those broken pieces, as clearly visible to Sacchi now as they were back then, some pieces had been reconstructed – some had broken all over again. That empathic smile, turned bitter, that casual attitude marred by the trembling, that confident voice, now perpetually strained.

Victor’s circumstances had changed, but he hadn’t, both in the good and the bad ways. Sacchi didn’t know whether that was a relief, or whether it was terrifying.

“Are you alone out here?” Sacchi asked, turning to the other houses, “No neighbors, no one to talk to, no one to help you with your issues?” he continued, and Victor hesitated for a moment, averting his gaze. His hands lowered, wringing his shirt as he fidgeted for an answer.

“…I did find a new boyfriend, if that’s what you’re asking.” Victor replied, it wasn’t a surprise to Sacchi, not really, and yet even then, even as he knew this was inevitable, there was that stinging pain in the back of his mind, that heat, that pulse of stress rising to his head, that pressure mounting in his chest, the tears coming to his eyes, that he quickly rushed to wipe away. “We found each other online, unsurprisingly.” Victor continued, not noticing, or at the very least not showing a reaction to Sacchi’s state, “I’m… not sure if it’s a _healthy_ relationship. I’m afraid that we’re trauma bonding.”

He shakes his head again, one of his hands caressing his opposite upper arm, “But… I think I need this. We both need something to heal in the present, even if…” he pauses, “…even if it causes problems in the future.”

Sacchi remembered that look too, that look of shame and regret, that look of confusion and worry, it was the exact same look he had when he first told Sacchi of his family’s problems, of his own problems. It was the first time Sacchi told him of his traumas and insecurities, of his anxieties. He remembered how uncomfortable Victor was. How difficult things would be for the following few years.

And he remembered, he remembered how things were back then, how Sacchi and Victor were inseparable even in the worst of times. How the annoyances faded away from memory, how the hugs became more frequent and less needy overtime, how sometimes one would go up to the other and kiss them for no reason other than they loved one another. The antics and the tickle fights, the arguments, the time they spent together, the pillars of support they were for each other, in the best of times, in the worst of times. He remembered how Victor spoke so terribly of his parents, how Sacchi never judged him for it, how madly in love Victor once said he was with him – how Sacchi was the person he wanted to _be_ just as much as he was the person he wanted to _be with_.

“I’m sorry.” Sacchi answered, holding back a sniffle, “I’m sorry…” The tears were impossible to beat back, each and every one cascading down his face, try as he might to keep his composure, his hands failing to clean away the tears quickly enough, even as his body trembled, even as his voice cracked, “…for becoming someone completely different from who you loved.” Even as it broke apart.

“You haven’t.” Victor replied, to which the sobbing stopped almost immediately, replaced with shock and surprise, even across his blurry vision, even across the tears, he could imagine the sympathetic smile, “You haven’t changed nearly as much as you think you have, Sacchi.” His tone was bittersweet, “You’re still the same person I fell in love with, your circumstances are just different.”

He blinked, as the tears naturally flowed out of his eyes, he felt his own hand brush against the hilt of his sword, his pinkie touching against the handle and feeling its coldness, if he were to pull it, he could still see his own reflection, stained in blood, if he looked down, he could still see the scars on his hands, or the clothing he had been given to serve as his equipment, if he reached back, he still had his hoodie for the stealth module he had used to assassinate multiple targets in the real and digital worlds, if he blinked, he could still remember each moment as his blade sundered flesh and broke bones, he could still remember the smell of rot and decay, of feeling of the warm blood as it splashed in his face, his stomach churned, he could still remember.

_Have I always been this?_

“How are you coping?” Victor’s question was the only thing to break Sacchi from his stupor, “With everything?” he continued, although his sad smile showed that he knew full well what the answer was – “I’m not.”

His hands reached up to clean his tears away, “I… I can’t.” he continued, “Not with… not with this…” his breathing was still ragged, the sobs still coming, “I can’t cope with… with my home city being like this… with the world being like this… with… with us being like this with—” his voice cracked, “with—” he could still remember he if he tried, he could still see the disfigured face, the bloodied, broken nose, the broken bones, bent in unnatural ways, the torn clothing, the burned hair, that cut on his chest wide enough to—

“Stop.” He could feel the hand touching his forehead, the palm pressing strongly against it even as the fingers ran through his hair, “Look at me.” Victor continued, worry plastered across his face, “Just… don’t think about that day. Look at me.”

And even as he asked for that, he couldn’t stop, he could still feel the bile that crept up his throat, he could still feel the tears coming to him, he could still feel Victor’s embrace as he tried to console the inconsolable Sacchi, he could still feel that deep pit in his stomach, the burning in his eyes, the pulsing at the back of his head, how his mind blocked out everything until he next woke up, how he wished so strongly it had just been a nightmare.

“Do you… regret saving me?”

The question hit him immediately, even in his dazed stupor, a shot through his chest so strong that it forced his mind to pull away from the memory, and instead move into the realm of the _what if_. Did he regret saving Victor? Would things have been different, had he chosen to stay behind? The pit in his stomach grew deeper as he pondered, _was leaving Victor to die the correct choice, that day?_

He closed his eyes strongly, pushing Victor’s hand away, he could feel the bile in his mouth again, he started to gag at the thought, had he actually, sincerely just considered letting the man he loved with all of his heart die? Had he actually entertained the thought, even for just a second?

What kind of monster had he turned into? 

“I’m sorry.” Victor replied, the blood rushing to his head making Victor’s voice difficult for him to focus on, “It’s… an unfair question to you.” He continued, he could almost feel the sadness in Victor’s expression, even as he couldn’t look at it, with his eyes still burning and with him still trying to recompose himself. Still, even his weak, crackly voice, could still muster the sincerest response, “…I only regret not being able to save you both.”

“Sacchi, you’re human.” Victor replied, concern still in his voice, “I don’t care how much training or… or _whatever_ equipment they’ve given you. You’re still human. You can make mistakes. You still have human limitations.” He paused, taking a deep, frustrated breath, “…But I know you’re not going to listen.” He continued, even as Sacchi’s gagging finally subsided, “…You’ve always been too stuck in the past.”

Sacchi cleared what tears he could from his eyes, still burning, still blurry, but he looked back at Victor, “…The past… is what defines what we are in the present.” His tone was almost defiant, almost upset at Victor, even if his sobbing broke what little anger there could be in his voice.

“And the present is what defines our future.” Victor replied.

The silence hung heavy around them both, Sacchi’s breathing and sobbing being the only noise between them, and the only noise around. Even as his breathing normalized, even as his sniffles stopped, even as his sobbing subsided and the taste of bile finally left his burning throat, you could only ever hear that between them, as if even the city itself had stopped for them.

And yet, a part of him wanted to keep crying, a part of him wanted to keep sobbing, because a part of him knew what came next. A part of him knew that this was the end, that he had to let go – Victor had already moved on, he needed to do that too. He knew that. He _knew_ that.

“I… have two things at the back of the house.” Victor started, joining his hands together, fidgeting with his fingers between them, “…they’re unmarked graves I made myself.” His gaze turned away, “…I couldn’t get the bodies but… I did at least give you and Taiku a burial, of sorts.”

Sacchi lowered his gaze as well, and with a deep breath, he muttered, “…Good luck in life, Victor.” His voice was weak, but Victor nodded back, and with the same broken voice, with the same weak mutter, he replied “…Good luck to you too.”

The man let his gaze linger for just a second, even as he took a few steps back, even as he reached for the door, even as he gently closed it, the creak of the wood the only thing between them. His gaze stayed, it stayed and it lingered until it was no more. The door closing shut being followed by the lights turning off, all proof of life vanishing from the home.

And so Sacchi stood there, alone on the porch, next to a lifeless home, a part of him asking whether that had been worth it, a part of him asking whether he could turn back time, so this didn’t have to happen.

Whether he could make things right.

He didn’t even notice his own body moving, to him, it was almost as if he had blinked and he was in another place, the time between the then and now erased from his mind and memory as unimportant, unworthy of being remembered – instead, now he stood in front of two small mounds of dirt, wooden crosses, hastily assembled and barely on the ground in front of each one.

On the first, he saw the gold necklace hanging from the cross, the circle on it engraved with intricate molds of flowers and blossoms, and at the center of it all, the singular letter – “S”. He instinctually reached for his own chest, and then, to his neck, the chain pulling above his black hair from within his clothes and falling on his hand, the simple gold chain, stained in red at the top, but immaculate further down, where a singular circle with engravings of tiny crows stood, at its epicenter, a singular letter – “V”.

He kneeled down towards the unmarked grave, placing his own necklace alongside the one already there, both of them swaying gently with the movement caused, but eventually standing perfectly still, as cold and as still as the embrace of death. Here they would lie until thousands of years in the future, they would rot, together.

On the other, he could see the steel helmet that laid upon the grave itself, dirtied by the soil, but still as beautiful as the day Sacchi had first laid his eyes upon it. If he would grab it, he would still be able to see the engravings of the crows and the old one-eyed Allfather on either side, the conspicuous lack of horns – a detail that had once made Victor so happy – and the hand carvings made to symbolize the bonds forged throughout one’s life. Once, a symbol and a reminder of a gift so thoughtful that it had brought Victor to tears.

Now, only a reminder of a day that would haunt both of them forever.

He got up, turning around and walking, he did not know where, he needed to move, his left hand moved to his hoodie, pulling it up and activating the stealth module once again, there was still much to do, still loose ends to tie up, he needed to know what kind of world he was coming back to.

What kind of pain he was returning to.


	15. Return

# \- Another Side, Another Story –

## Verse 2: Return

_A door opens to cold, dark and silence  
An empty home is memory’s tomb._

September 10th,2025  
10:11PM, Brasilia Time

_I’m not sure how much you’ll care about this, but I do have some news._

He gazed upwards on the sidewalk, over the brick walls around a metal gate that sat closed. In any other night, maybe he would have trouble seeing the top of the house, in such a street with no lighting whatsoever, but the stars were bright tonight, the moon shining as it ever did. He could see the old yellow paintjob around the three small windows, and the balcony above it, on the top floor.

The slight jingle in his hands brought him to look down, to the two sets of keys resting in his hands. Unlike the house he stood in front of, they were brand new, made perhaps only weeks – or maybe even days – ago, and yet he knew trying them on the lock in front of him was useless. He could still see the extra lock around the smaller door to the side of the gate, and he still remembered where they hid it – nowhere within his immediate reach.

He sighed, placing the first set on his pocket. He took a few steps up the street, past the small place where the old tree was, to the house right next to it. The tree there had fallen to the opposite side of the street, you could still see the power lines it cut through, the destruction it had left on a car and the house opposite. If you were the look around this street, you would see little other than wanton destruction – the houses little more than painted rubble, old cars destroyed or abandoned, pavement and sidewalks in disrepair, when they were not marked by large impact craters, not a single functional lamppost in sight, although only two were even standing anymore, and neither were lit.

He raised the second set of keys to the neighboring house, the door and gate of dark wood, and found that it fit perfectly into the lock. Despite all odds, the lock opened easily, the old wood creaking as it did. It opened to a cold wind, a small, dark, and empty garage, and another, open door on the back.

_When I first took you for our cause, I did my best to handle whatever… bureaucracy was necessary on your behalf._

He closed the door behind him, locking it again, before taking a deep breath and pocketing the keys. He pulled the hood back, deactivating the stealth module, there was no need for secrecy in here. Worst case scenario, he’d find a squatter.

As he walked into the door on the back and pushed it open, the creaking of the white wood echoing across the dark house, he could still see the living room, the old sofas and armchairs, the old sewing machine pushed to one side, the large metal table and the old, small TV, hanging from the wall. Despite the darkness, the place looked untouched to his eyes, if he blinked, if he thought hard enough, he could still pretend to see his uncle and his aunt, greeting him as he walked in, his visits infrequent enough that they were always delighted to have him around.

If he looked up, he could maybe think of his old cousins coming to greet him, coming down the stairs as they did, just as excited to talk to him and meet him. He never did have a close relationship with them, but they cared about and liked him all the same. A pang of guilty grew in his chest, remembering all the times he could have spent time with them, but didn’t. He never was very social, not even with family.

If he took a few steps, he could still hear the creaking of the old wood under his feet, he could still maybe hear the little mewling of a white kitten running to greet him, practically begging for his chin scritches. With a smile, maybe he could even remember all the times his uncle asked for him to “fix his phone”, something which always took ten minutes tops. He could still remember how annoyed he was that he had to reteach the basics every time, he never had much patience for teaching.

And how he never let it show, how he smiled and nodded every time, showing them politeness and courtesy as much as possible – they were old, and they were his neighbors as well as his family, there was no reason to antagonize them, not when they had shown nothing but kindness to him.

_I did find some… interesting things under your name though._

He took to the corridor next to the living room, the door to the back still left open by that brick they used as a door stopper. He walked through the small corridor that was at the side of the house, the walls here made of pure, jagged stone, leading to a more open part of the terrain. To the left, a small door of metal, blocked by a metal net to prevent the cats from slipping through to the other side of the property. To his front, he could still see the badly tiled floor of what was originally supposed to be a backyard, for his uncle and aunt, but instead became a small but open area to what effectively amounted to a small storage room.

He grabbed the handle of the door to his left, trying to push it open, feeling a small resistance as it always did, and then pushing it fully, seeing himself close it behind him again out of habit. He was now in the closest thing his old grandmother had to a front yard, although this too was an interstitial area between the properties, more a place to hang up laundry than anything.

And with a deep breath, he turned to the side, to his grandma’s old, tiny house, to _his_ old, tiny house, the place he had moved into permanently after his grandmother’s death. The lamp above the door still as pristine and as old school as ever.

When he pushed the door inwards, he felt the resistance, and he chuckled under his breath as he pushed into it harder, the rubber under the door still as awkward and as in need of replacement as ever. Inside, he could still see what could best be described as the mish-mash of whatever they could put in here, the world’s least cohesive living room, made entirely of pass-me-down furniture that they had. He could still see that old table that his mother used for commissions, he let out a strong sigh.

_There was something about a… property dispute?_

He walked opposite the entrance, not bothering to close the door, taking to the stairs, and finding himself on the second floor just as he remembered doing so many times before. His hand instinctively, almost absentmindedly opened the door directly to his left, and he saw the old room, the large closet that he had, two thirds reserved for himself, one third for Victor, the king-sized bed atop the old carpet, the old wooden windows closed.

And yet, right in front of him, right in front of the door he had just come through, he saw the large table, he saw the double monitors – one larger, one smaller – he saw the tower and the mess of cables on the back of the table, the old keyboard, the old mouse, the old mousepad with its wrist rest. It was still here, it had been over five years since he had last seen it, but it was still here, his own little corner of the world, his room, his computer, his everything.

He walked to the window, the little paper that they used to keep it from getting stuck closed having rotted away, he had to push it open with a strong force, the groan and creak of the wood almost deafening in the silence of this old house, but when it did open, the cold night’s wind came through, the house’s stagnant air being let out, almost as if the house was finally allowed to breathe again. Right below the window, he sat down on the bed, its multiple pillows still scattered around it. It wasn’t difficult to locate his old favorite one, and despite everything, it still felt just as soft as always.

He could still see the two old chairs that they had, practically stuck between the table and the bed, one still kept intact by literal duct tape, and the other still with the old pillow on it, disguising the giant tear that had made it lose most of its stuffing. He could still remember all the times him and Victor sat on those chairs, taunting each other while they played bad fighting games, helping each other with MMOs, or simply watched each other raid some boss or another, a part of him dared to wonder if any of his old games were still running, and he allowed himself to chuckle at the thought.

If he closed his eyes, the comfort of the pillow and the bed around him, he could still remember the tickle fights, he could still remember cuddles and the kisses, the tense and the stronger conversations, he allowed himself to spare a small glance to the nightstand next to the computer’s table, the old router still on top of it. As he got up and reached for the first drawer, he could still see the multiple condoms and the bottle of lube inside. He chuckled a little, pushing the drawer back closed. This was a place of good memories.

As he raised his hand again, he almost allowed himself to hope, to hope and to believe that he could, that it could be true, his hand reached for the power button on the tower, and pressed it with that satisfying click that he had heard so many times before. That hopeful part of him expected to see the old BIOS booting up, asking to run the checkdisk on his primary hard drive, that old thing that he really, _really_ needed to replace. A part of him expected to press any key on the keyboard to skip it, his old desktop of a glowing baby dragon snuggling in on itself. That part of himself allowed him to hope.

But as he pressed the button, even after a few seconds, he did not hear the whirring of the fans or the crackle of life that came from the tower, he did not see the lights turn to life, or his monitor to show him the startup process. None of it happened. The machine had refused to respond.

Going past the chair, pushing it under the table, and back to the door, he reached for the light switch, and was met with the fact that he already knew – there was no electricity in the house. The house itself may have been spared, but the infrastructure that made it functional had not.

_Well, I do have good news and bad news about it: The good news is – the dispute is over._

He allowed his eyes to linger on the scars on his hand, those burns and cuts that had never fully healed, those marks upon his body that had been proof of the life he had lived for so long, the cold wind of the windows, once a breath upon the house, now sent chills down his spine. He gazed back upon his little corner of the world, undisturbed save for what little he had done these past few minutes, the memories were still there, the furniture was still there, but it felt empty, hollow, void.

Going through the door again, he walked down the stairs and past the entrance again, he walked forward, past the laundry area, opening the last door that separated the back and the front of the property, finding himself in the long garage, long enough to put two cars back to back, and the metal gate that served as the house’s entrance. A part of him fully expected to hear the barking, his mother’s old poodle coming out of her little house to greet him excitedly. He could still remember her wagging tail, and how much she loved being with him just as much as she loved being with his mother. He still remembered how he hated how much energy she had, since he never had enough to keep up with her or to give her as much attention as she wanted. If he gazed to the side, he could still see the little pots on the small table, where they kept her treats and her food.

But there was no such thing, the old dog did not appear, her doggy house as old and as empty as the rest of the garage, with no cars and no life, coldness of the wind passing through the gate the only thing to keep him company.

With a deep breath, he dug into his pocket for the other set of keys, and to his left, he saw the door that would lead him to his childhood home, the place he lived in before his grandmother’s death. Much like the first key, this one went in without an issue, opening the door to a very small area – to the left, an open door to a small office that his mother often used, and to his right, a set of stairs to the house proper.

_The bad news is: It’s because everyone that had any claim to the property is now dead – save for you._

He closed the door and walked up the stairs, past the dining room with that big wooden table that his parents always loved, the family dinners infrequent, but always large and rowdy, past the living room with the three windows that faced the street, a place his mother had turned into yet another one of her work rooms that doubled for relaxation, past the corridor and past the kitchen, where his mother had taught him how to cook basic meals, past the bathroom, where his father would take all of his showers back when he was still alive, and into the stairs to the third floor.

When he reached the corridors of the third floor, he walked to the first door on the left, seeing the large king-sized bed that his parents had used, the large TV that mother had insisted they buy, the overly large closet that they two shared. Sacchi walked past all of it, opening the double doors at the opposite side, walking into the large balcony.

When the night sky was above him, when the cold wind struck his face, Sacchi couldn’t help but lean against the edge, he couldn’t help but look towards the rest of the street, this three-story house giving him ample vision of the rest of the street. He could still see it, that old building that had been destroyed, another house having been burned to cinders, another having been quite literally stepped on. If he looked up and down, he could see that the destruction continued to both of the neighboring streets, with no lights anywhere, no signs of life anywhere, what used to be a cozy, lively neighborhood was now empty and devoid of life, full of nothing but destruction and decay.

And yet, somehow, by some impossibility of the universe, there they stood, the three houses he had known his entire life, his aunt’s house, his mother’s house, and his house, all three pristine and intact, neither weather nor Digimon nor scavengers having touched it in these years, showing nothing but the signs of neglect and disrepair, and yet none of the signs of the destruction around them.

_It took me pulling some strings, and I have no idea what you’re going to do with it but… congratulations, Sacchi. You’re now the owner of a terrain large enough for three houses and some change._

Could he even call it luck?

There he now stood, on top of the only intact terrain maybe for miles around, finally the owner of a property that had cost them so much back in his old life, so much fighting and so much legalese to get here, and now there he was, with the end result of that fight – in fact, with more than he was even fighting for, for now he owned not just his own half of the terrain, but also his aunt’s.

Even if it had only been five years, that life felt like an eternity ago. He had been kidnapped, forced into a war, forced to live and breathe through a world he could not even have imagined existed, forced to learn the blade, to kill monsters and humans alike, forced to work as a political assassin, and so, so much more, to speak nothing of the last two years, where he had taken an entirely new life, first as a servant to a powerful monster, then as his own person in a land of mystical and fantastic creatures so diverse he could still not wrap his head around them all.

It pained him to think of it, a dull pain in the back of his head, a raw pain in his chest, a pulse in his forehead, but no matter how he looked at it, no matter how he thought about it, he was no longer the same person that lived in this house five years ago, and no one had lived here for at least three, not Victor, who never fully moved in with him due to his parents, not Taiku, who had already moved out to his own apartment before everything happened, and not his mother, who grew melancholic in her solitude and moved somewhere else.

The house he fought so hard to keep, the house that dated back to his grandparents, the terrain passed down from there, to his father, and after a lot of legal battles, to him, was no longer his home, and it couldn’t be again.

He pushed out from the edge of the balcony, entering back into his parents’ bedroom, and going down the corridor, passing the old bathroom and into the final room of the house – his childhood bedroom.

It was much as he remembered it, the wooden closet stuck to the wall, the bed with the old mattress a little too small for it, the table just as equally stuck to the wall as it was attached to the bed, large enough to encompass an entire corner to the room. There was no chair here, no clothes and nothing else to speak of, save for the large wooden window above the table, and the door that led to his tiny balcony, overlooking the house he’d come to live in later.

It made sense that it would be so sparse, Taiku had moved in here to escape his own family situation, spending a few months until he managed to get enough to pay rent for his own apartment, and since then, it had become a guest room for a family that rarely had many guests – and the few that did usually used the living room downstairs anyway. And yet, even in this state, it still read to him as the place where he spent most of his past life, only moving out to his grandmother’s old home when he was already in his early twenties.

He sat down on the mattress, the old pillow with no case the only thing really left in the room. It felt cold, lonely, empty, just as the rest of the home, just as the rest of the property, just as what was left of his old life.

He dug into his pocket again, grabbing his communicator and tapping on its screen, he brought it to his ear as he pushed himself against the wall, feeling himself as he hugged his knees with his other arm. “Sacchi.” He heard Eve’s voice on the other side, “You caught me at a good time, I was almost going to sleep.” Her voice was gentle and calm, reassuring even, almost apologetic, “What do you need?”

“…I’ve been through the old property.” He started, sighing in the dark of his old bedroom, “I… don’t think I can keep it, Eve. This place…” he choked for a moment, and licked his dried lips slightly, “…this place isn’t home for me anymore.”

“…I understand.” Her voice was lower, sympathetic, “…is there anything you want to do with it? I don’t imagine you’d want to let it go to auction.”

Sacchi blinked twice, then took a deep breath, “…Could you turn it into a homeless shelter or something?” he had always been privileged, his home had always been much larger than he could afford, a legacy of a time before he was born. Had he not inherited this, he never would be able to get something even a tenth as large or as impressive, and he had always been keenly aware of it. If he wasn’t going to use it, then to give it to those who need it was the only course of action.

“I’m afraid that’s impossible Sacchi.” Eve replied, but after a small pause, continued, “…That said, the terrain, as is, is enough to house about ten people very comfortably.” He could almost see the hesitation in her voice, as if she knew that what she would ask was sacrilegious, “…If you’ll allow me, I could use it as a shelter for some of my agents.”

And so this is what it would come down to, his childhood home would become yet another piece in one of Eve’s games, an asset to be used and abandoned at will. He spared a thought at how outraged his mother would be at this, how outraged his _grandmother_ would be at this. If they could hear this conversation, they were sure to be turning in their graves.

And yet “…Do it.” What other choice did he have? Despite Eve’s methods, despite her ruthlessness, she did get results, and she did make things better in a… roundabout, barely moral way. And even if Sacchi had moral objections to her machinations, it would, at the very least, be a home, a home for people who might not have it, a home for people that might need it, it would be _a home_.

And if it couldn’t be a home for _him,_ then at least it could be for someone else.

“Very well.” Eve responded, barely disguising the happiness in her voice, Sacchi exhaled a little strongly, “…Keep the terrain in my name though.” He started, an out in case he would regret this decision later. “And… there’s no electricity here, no water, no anything. It’s in the middle of one of the destroyed neighborhoods.”

“I can do that, and don’t worry.” He could _hear_ Eve’s smile, “I have my means.”

Sacchi closed his eyes, “Is there anything else, Sacchi?” she started, “You’ve been out for about four days already, will you be joining us soon?” her question wasn’t innocent, but it was still concerned, if Sacchi didn’t know any better, he’d think that she actually cared. “…I think I still need a few more days, Eve.” He replied, “But… I’ll be there soon. Don’t worry.”

“Alright, I’m eager for your return.” Again, he could hear the smile on her voice, and if he didn’t know any better, he might think it was because she enjoyed his company, rather than the fact he was such a huge asset to them. “Good night, Sacchi.”

“You too, Eve.” He barely finished the sentence when he hung up, leaving the communicator on the table next to the bed. He reached for his hips, detaching the sheathes from his belt and placing them next to the communicator, before sighing loudly, allowing himself to collapse onto the pillow, stretching out his legs and arms, looking towards the white ceiling of his room. Yesterday, he had found the closest thing he could to closure with Victor, and today, he was going to say goodbye to the last remnant of his old life, the last vestige of the person he used to be, the last physical connection he had to his family, to his friends, to his old life.

This was it. He was back. Back in a world ravaged by a war they managed to win but did not manage to mitigate. Back in a world brought to stasis by who knows how many millions of deaths. Back in a world where he would have to fight and kill and make political assassinations for the hope of a brighter future. Back where he would be forced to remind himself that each and every life he took had a history, a family, a people, connections, much like him, much like his friends, much like his parents. Back where he would need to remind himself that he needed to do the deed anyway, despite his protestations, all for the greater good.

And now, all under the power of a new being, a new creature that he could understand even less than the last one, something much grander and much more terrifying, all to fix an anomaly that not even Eve could identify, and that she could only say that his presence somehow managed to mitigate. A place where he – a regular dude – had been forced into mythological circumstances that he could barely comprehend and barely keep up with, forced to survive with nothing but his wits, his two swords, and what few ideals the cruelty of this life did not shatter.

Home.


	16. Burden

# \- Another Side, Another Story -

## Verse 3: Burden

_The cold of infinity gnaws beyond.  
Existing is a burden we must all bear._

September 11th, 2025  
8:37PM, Eastern Standard Time

_What happened? Where am I?_

“Eve!” the black dragon yelled, doing his best to hold down the man’s two arms who struggled against him with a strength he didn’t know his partner had. “Do something!”

The white-haired woman didn’t hesitate, she approached the recovery pod and snapped her fingers, in a tiny flash of light, one could see her servants flanking her again, the female robot immediately moving to hold the man’s head, whereas the male robot, Oberon, moved to hold the man’s arms. BlackGuilmon stood back, but Eve looked to him, “Hold down his legs.” She started, moving to press keys on the console next to the pod.

_Why can I not feel my hands? My arms? My legs?_

The Digimon immediately moved to hold down the man’s legs as they thrashed about almost as wildly as his arms did. He was immobilized, but despite the strength all three put on his body, he struggled, another hacking cough coming to his throat, a choking gurgle following shortly afterwards. Ophelia moved his head to the side, the same black ichor pouring out of Sacchi’s mouth as she did, expelled with each cough, and yet even when he did not move his head, whenever he blinked, the black ichor was gone.

“Lay him down on his side, make sure he can’t choke.” Eve instructed, the little noises made by the keys only muffled by the sound of his partner’s constant moans in pain, interspersed with the coughing of the black ichor. Ophelia and Oberon did most of the work, placing Sacchi on his side in the pod, but as soon as he was properly placed, Eve raised her hands.

_Have I gone blind? Why is it so dark?_

Small compartments opened inside of the pod, from the very bedding they used, leather straps started to poke out. Eve immediately started to work on restraining Sacchi with those, first his arms, then his head, and finally, his legs. She practically shoved BlackGuilmon aside when she did the last part, a move that, in any other situation, he’d have a retort to.

When she finished double checking the straps, Oberon and Ophelia pulled away from the pod, and its glass lid gently closed on itself, Sacchi now securely sealed inside, still struggling, but his body unable to break through the restraints that Eve had placed on him. Her servants disappeared, and Eve took a deep breath, pinching the bridge of her nose.

_I can’t feel my mouth, I can’t feel my fingers, I can’t feel my body._

“Eve.” The Digimon started, and Eve turned to him with a speed that betrayed her anger and annoyance, but her expression was met with concern and near-panic from the dragon, “Will he be okay?”

Eve’s mouth turned into a thin line. With a deep breath, she snapped her fingers again; Ophelia appeared behind her, a simple wooden chair in her hands, and Eve simply sat down, before the servant disappeared once again. BlackGuilmon looked at her expression, dejected, upset, concerned, and ultimately, she seemed like she was at a loss for words, something that he had never seen before from the queen.

“…I don’t know, BG.” She answered, her low tone betraying her honesty, “I… think he will be, but I honestly don’t know.” To hear Eve say that she didn’t know something was such a rare event that BlackGuilmon once thought it a myth, and certainly it had been true in his previous interactions with her, but now, he could only look onto his partner’s body, behind that glass, his shivers and struggles prevented by the straps, but by no means stopped.

_Why is it not cold? Why is it not hot? Why… why can’t I feel **anything**?_

He placed his large paw on the pod’s glass, his partner once again coughing that black ichor from before, he noticed how his tears had turned to black as well, streaking down his face as they did, that same black ichor pouring out of his tear ducts as it did from his throat. Sacchi convulsed, he retched, from his mouth poured a stream of the black ichor as he vomited it out, staining the glass and the bedding below him, blocking his view of Sacchi’s face.

And yet, when BlackGuilmon pulled back slightly, when he blinked, the ichor was no longer there, it had disappeared, gone, left without a trace, the tears did not leave streaks behind, his cheeks were as dry as they had been before, even as new tears started to pour out. The previous ones nothing more than a memory in his mind, nothing more than thoughts, and even the new ones, too, vanished when he blinked again, gone as if it was never there in the first place.

_Is this… death? Am I dead?_

“Eve.” BlackGuilmon started, turning to the woman. She had her head lowered, but raised it to look at him when he spoke, “What… happened to him?” he asked, his voice higher pitched and softer than normal. When was the last time he had felt so scared? When was the last time he had felt so terrified? That lump in his stomach churned, he couldn’t help but think about it.

Eve blinked, she hesitated, she raised her head and pursed her lips, turning her face away as she did, for a moment, you could see the gears turning in her head, deciding whether to answer the question honestly or not. BlackGuilmon didn’t know if he wanted to hear the truth. “I… think I can answer that…” she started, “But first… you’re going to have to come clean with me on something.”

BlackGuilmon raised his eyebrow, and Eve looked around, before raising her hand to one of her floating monitors that followed her palm, she looked at its soft glow, before letting out a heavy sigh, “…But we can’t talk here.”

_Is this… oblivion? Unable to do anything but be stuck in my own thoughts?_

Eve got up and went back to the pod’s monitor, a few button presses let out small “click” sounds, the pod’s lock on its wheels disengaged for the time being. She took the pod by its side, “Help me push.” She started, pushing the pod towards the infirmary’s exit.

It was that same lump in his stomach that prevented the dragon from snapping at her, it was that same lump in his stomach that simply had him comply, that endured the minutes of walking back through the corridors and towards the entrance, that made him turn his head away when he saw the rest of Omega silently walking towards the infirmary for their treatments. It was that lump of dread that lingered in the back of his mind that had rendered him docile for these few minutes, that fear that he had pushed out so far into the past that he had almost forgotten about, he dared to hope that this wasn’t related to what he expected, even if he already knew better.

_Help. Hel—Help! HELP!_

Once the pod was through the laboratory’s room, once Eve closed the door and locked it to anyone else, once they had pushed the pod to the corner and Eve had taken her seat, once she took a deep breath, did she finally speak, “Be honest with me.” She started, gazing into the dragon’s eyes seriously, and yet with a hint of understanding, “…You’re a Boundary Dweller, aren’t you?”

That dread in the back of his mind grew, it grew alongside the lump in his stomach, he couldn’t escape his past, it seemed, no matter how much he tried. “If you’re asking that question…” he let out a long, dejected sigh, “…I’m guessing you’re one as well?” he wasn’t surprised when Eve nodded, it would explain so very much about her.

“How much have you combed the Archives?” Eve asked, and BlackGuilmon shook his head, “More than I’d like, but too little to be on your level, I’m afraid.” To gaze upon infinity invited only madness, and he already had enough sorrow to last multiple lifetimes.

“I don’t blame you.” she spoke with a tone that conveyed sympathy as much as it conveyed understanding. She had embraced her role much more thoroughly than he had, it must have taken an astronomical toll on her. “But… it does mean I can give you a rough explanation of what happened to him.”

BlackGuilmon blinked twice, “Only rough?” he asked, and Eve nodded, “I’ve… only brushed a little on the theory, I’m afraid this is not something I’ve ever encountered before, my knowledge in this area, despite my access… is limited.” She sighed, “…And I’ll fully admit, from what I do know, I’m not sure I fully understand it.”

_Someone—Someone please, anyone, please—please help me. Help me please—_

“But the gist of it is…” she turned back to the pod, Sacchi retched again, another torrent of the black ichor escaping his throat. It did not vanish when he blinked this time, but when his gaze turned to Eve and then back, it was gone. “…Sacchi seems to have gained some sort of new power, and it comes at a cost.”

She took another deep breath, “The power requires Sacchi to draw in a… we could call it a toxin, into his body.” Her voice sounded more unsure by the second, “The liquid his body is excreting is effectively it trying to remove that toxin.”

“Can’t we help?” BlackGuilmon turned to her again, his deep voice turning into a whine, “Isn’t there… anything we can do?” but much to his dismay, the white-haired woman only shook her head, “We can do nothing but wait until his body has expelled enough.” She lowered her head, “The only thing we can do is make sure he doesn’t choke on it, or kill himself trying to remove it.”

_Please—I don’t want to be like this – I don’t want to be stuck—please, please oh gods please—_

“The best news I can tell you is that it’s not… fatal by itself.” Eve glanced back to the pod, “As best as I can tell, he will just expel it out with time, and so long as his bodily reactions don’t kill him, he’ll be fine.” She shook her head, “…Of course, this could take anything from a few days… to a few months.”

“But you’re telling me—” BlackGuilmon gulped down hard, Sacchi doesn’t deserve to be involved in this, Sacchi doesn’t deserve any of this, not for what he did, “—you’re telling me that if he had done anything bigger than what he did, he’d be dead?”

She looked back, straight into his eyes, “BlackGuilmon.” She started, “If he had somehow done anything bigger, death would have been a mercy.” She closed her eyes strongly, “…For him and for all of us.”

_help_


	17. Choice

# \- Another Side, Another Story -

## Verse 4: Choice

_And so the curtain calls onto a new chapter.  
How much agency does a person really have?_

September 28th, 2025  
2:03PM

He was no stranger to bad sleep, he was no stranger to waking up in bad moods, he was no stranger to feeling like shit in the morning. He was no stranger to a dry throat on waking up, no stranger to eyes squinting against the light, no stranger to just snuggling back to his pillow despite whatever he needed to do that day, no stranger to feeling awake and yet never opening his eyes, trying his best to drift back to sleep.

When he woke up, his body felt heavy and tired, exhausted even, like he had been exercising for who knows how long and yet fell asleep for only thirty minutes, his mind was foggy, incapable of proper thought so soon after waking. If he were any other person, he’d likely mention something about needing coffee to start the day, although he had never been much of a fan of it. He could feel his eyes squint at the small amount of light that came to reach them, he felt himself blink multiple times, trying to clear away the drowsiness and the sleep from his mind. None of this was an unusual experience for him.

But when he raised his head and bumped it with some force against the cold glass, when that pang of pain came through on his forehead, and he could feel himself grasping for it, letting out a small “ow” in response, when he could feel each and every strand of his hair as he instinctively rubbed the spot, there was a part of him that could feel nothing but joy, that part of him that had been screaming, pleading for help for what felt like an endless eternity, he allowed himself to smile, he was still alive.

In his ears he heard the sounds of the pod opening, he heard the little whirring of the machine as the glass lifted, giving him space and allowing him to move properly, he allowed himself a smile of relief when he saw those strands of white hair approach him, even as his vision was still too blurry to make out her features. He could feel again. He was still alive.

“Welcome back.” Her voice only made him smile harder, something he never thought he’d think about, “How are you feeling, Sacchi?” Eve’s voice showed only a mild hint of concern, to which he could only chuckle under his breath. His vision was still blurry, he did not dare sit up, and yet, with a smile, he answered, “Like shit.” He exhaled strongly, “How long have I been out?”

“Two weeks, almost exactly.” She replied, he could hear her pulling a chair to sit down, “I must say, you look very happy for someone who feels like shit.” She continued, he could hear the smile in her voice, even if he wasn’t able to fully see yet. “Yeah… I am.” Happy, relieved, glad to be alive, glad to not be stuck in an endless void, a prisoner of his own thoughts.

Sacchi took a moment to take a deep breath, his vision clearing slightly with every one of his blinks. He pushed himself up on the pod, sitting down, mercifully clothed this time. He rubbed his eyes a bit, trying to push away the drowsiness. Despite the exhaustion, he wasn’t feeling particularly sleepy anymore. He blinked a few more times, and looked around.

He could see the long table and the huge monitor, the beakers and the cabinets, the drawers, the faint smell from something he couldn’t identify. This wasn’t the first time he had been to the lab, although it was certainly the first time that he woke up in it. “What happened after I passed out?” he asked, still looking around the room. He tried to look at what Eve had been working on the monitor, but unfortunately, his current position did not allow for that.

“You managed to open us a path, we escaped, we brought you to the infirmary and everyone else finished their vacations.” Eve replied, “Eventually, I brought you here so I could keep an eye on you and my work simultaneously.” Sacchi let out a dry laugh, he could fault her for many things, but not for her diligence.

“Sacchi.” When her voice got more serious, he turned to her, now able to see her properly. Her tone had gotten lower, but her face still showed concern and sympathy, “When I first asked you this, you lied, and I let it slide.” She took a deep breath, “But now? I saw you, with a single stroke, not just kill and delete all Digimon in our path that day, but to make them completely vanish, leaving behind no trail, no particles, no anything.” Her brow furrowed, “So I need to know – _what happened to you?_ ”

Sacchi turned his gaze upwards, he closed his eyes, and even in the back of his mind, he could still feel that cold embrace of the void that dug around him, “…I’m not sure.” He replied, he could remember that presence that seemed simultaneously so far away and yet so all-encompassing, something which did not allow him to look away, for it was everywhere around him, and yet he could never fully look at properly. “I… had to go into a fight to get out of that world, and—” he gulped down hard, “…I’m pretty sure I died.”

He still remembered the pain, that sharp point that pierced his back and grew thicker with enough strength to shatter his spine, to destroy his inner organs with no remorse and no pity. Eve had been right, no human could survive what he went through, and he hadn’t. “Once I lost consciousness though I felt… I felt myself floating, floating in the middle of the cosmos.” He blinked twice, trying to recall the scene as accurately as possible. “And… a voice started speaking to me.”

“It… didn’t so much speak as it just… invaded my mind.” Through his bones, through his flesh, through the innermost parts of his soul, reverberating through it even more strongly than his own voice ever could, “It told me that it could give me another chance, that it could let me keep going.” A chance for closure, a chance of resolution, a chance to make amends, a chance to fix what he had left behind.

“It… showed me the universe.” How insignificant it felt, how utterly meaningless it felt in the middle of so much, “It… showed me multiple universes.” How tiny even all of them felt, in the center of something so vast and alien, so powerful and pitiless, “Then… it showed me other things. A… green world devoid of form. I saw an endless emerald horizon, a sea of all of the blood ever spilled in violence, a man digging into a mountain to stop a fire before he dug into his own flesh.” Were all of these dreams? Figments of people’s imaginations? Or were they real – events that transpired in other worlds, other universes, not unlike his own?

“I… remember seeing an orange-yellow light beyond this green world, I remember how powerful it felt to gaze upon, something completely formless and yet holding infinite potential.” He remembered it being nostalgic to look at, how it reminded him of Elsword and Aisha’s fighting, how it reminded him of Rena, “And then…” he gulped down, “I saw… a void.”

“I didn’t feel darkness, I didn’t feel cold, I didn’t feel potential or see color or… or anything…” No darkness and no light, no color, no compassion or hatred, no _anything_ and no _nothing_. “And then I suddenly felt… thought. Impulse. Intent.” Intent for what? Impulse for what? “And I saw how whatever was in that void cracked through into the universes.”

He blinked again, trying to stop himself from shuddering, he let out a long exhale, it felt cold against his lips, “Then… the voice told me that it could give me power. Power to be something in this vast emptiness.” A deep breath, “It told me that accepting that power would be the price to get my second chance.” His brow furrowed, even as he closed his eyes, “I knew the deal was stacked in my favor so hard it had to be some sort of trick but… what choice did I have?” He had already left a life behind, circumstances forced him to leave the second one behind to return to the first, and to let himself die there would be to render everything he had done pointless, it wasn’t a choice. “So I took it, I accepted it, and it told me that the power would be the ability to remold reality, to substitute it with my own, with but a single command.”

He took a deep breath, “I tried to ask what that entity was, but it didn’t answer.” He turned to Eve, “That’s… as much as I can tell you, really.”

When he turned to her, he almost expected her to start laughing, or to start questioning his mental faculties, he almost expected her to groan and ask if he was lying to her, or maybe be fascinated by what he had just described. What he did not expect was to see the calm and collected Eve, as regal and as composed as she was, with her eyes practically bulging out of their orbits, simultaneously flabbergasted and terrified, completely at a loss for words, stuck in a single moment of dread, a single cold breath stuck in her throat.

And when she finally did speak, her voice was low, tiny, reduced to an almost pathetic whimper, it was so low, barely above a whisper, and yet, somehow, Sacchi could still hear it perfectly – “…You’re the Truth of Being.”

He blinked twice, shaking his head, “…What?”

Eve took a very deep breath, she pinched the bridge of her nose, at first, it seemed like she was thinking deeply about something, but then her expression changed, to annoyance and some sort of acceptance, “Of course…” she let out, under her breath, “That… actually explains so much.” She did not look pleased.

Sacchi furrowed his brow, “…Care to share?”

“Okay so…” she rubbed her face with both hands, sighing deeply, “That… entity, that talked to you?” she started, “It showed you universes, multiple of them, it showed you a green dreamscape, a golden formless space of potential, and the nothingness with a will, correct?” she turned to him, her expression almost wanted him to say no, and when he nodded, slowly, she sighed again, “…That entity was The Boundary.”

He blinked twice, “Is that name supposed to mean anything to me?” he asked, tilting his head a little, and Eve gazed away, “…I suppose not.” She started, “I suppose… the easiest way to think of the Boundary is that it’s the creator of everything and anything, as well as nothingness.”

“Oh yeah, that sounds super simple.” Sacchi’s voice may not have betrayed it, but deep down, he knew what she meant, “It’s the… ultimate creator. Of everything.” Eve did not meet his gaze, even when she blinked, “It created time and space, it created gravity and it created entropy, it created the laws of reality which govern our day to day lives, and it created everything else you saw.” She finally turned back to him, “…And it chose you as its champion. The Truth of Being.”

Again.

First, Champion of the Night, now, Champion of some ultimate creator thing. He could feel his fists clenching, he could feel his teeth grinding, he let out a long, tired exhale. This… he truly was back, wasn’t he? Nothing had changed, only more and more misery compounded on him. He broke his chains, only to be put on a new set right afterwards. Nothing had changed. Nothing.

“How do you know all of this?” he asked, turning to her in a vague attempt to make sense of his new situation, she blinked once, and took a very deep breath. “The same way I know so much about science.” She started, and Sacchi raised an eyebrow, Eve placed a hand on her chest, “I am what is known as a Boundary Dweller.” A pause, “Dwellers like myself are chosen by the Boundary, through some criteria I could not possibly fathom, to gain access to something known as the Boundary Archives.” With that same hand, she made a movement with her wrist, a monitor appearing on top of her hand, she rotated it to Sacchi, it was a very simplistic display, a black screen with what looked to be a set of folders to the side, their names too small for Sacchi to properly see, “The Archives contains each and every possible piece of information that you could ever think of – from the innermost workings of reality, to profiles of different people.”

Sacchi blinked, then looked to her, “So… you have a library of literally _all of reality_?” he asked, and Eve let out an exhale with a sad smile, “…More than just reality, really, but let’s not get into that right now.” Sacchi blinked twice, but she shook her head, the monitor turning back to her in her hand, “I think it’s more accurate to say that the Archives are a database, and Dwellers get near unlimited access to it, and part of that means…” she paused, “…well, basically looking at the code underpinning reality.” She then looked to Sacchi again, “This is just an analogy, by the way, reality isn’t _actually_ made of code, just the Digital World.” She tried to smile, but it came a little warped, a little strained.

Sacchi let out a strong sigh, “Alright then…” he said, “What can you tell me about this new role of mine?” he saw as she shifted her gaze from him, back to the monitor, and then back to him, her lips turning into a thin line, “…Almost nothing.” He blinked twice, and opened his mouth— “And before you ask.” She interrupted him, “I said _near_ unlimited access, if there is something in the Archives that the Boundary doesn’t want me to see, then I can’t.”

He took a deep breath, and then made a hand gesture to her, telling her to continue, “What I can tell you…” she started, after a brief second, “Is that the Truth of Being is given powers not unlike the ones you described to me, the ability to… effectively rewrite reality as they see fit.” She bit her lip a little, “I also know that Dwellers like myself have something of a role to play in aiding the Truth of Being, but I wouldn’t be able to tell you what.”

Sacchi turned back to her, “What _is_ my role?” he started, “What does the Boundary expect me to _do_?” he could see Eve’s teeth biting on her lip a little harder, moments before she shook her head, “…I’m afraid that I have no clue.” She continued, “It could be some grand and noble cause, or you could be just an amusing plaything for it, I, genuinely, do not know.” Sacchi’s teeth gritted in response, his face distorting in anger, again, _again_ a plaything!

“Sacchi?” she asked, fortunately before Sacchi was allowed to stew in his anger for too long, “Do you remember when you asked me why I kidnapped you?” she asked, her voice a little meeker than usual, almost… apologetic. Sacchi nodded, “…You told me that I knew why, but I never did.” His gaze turned downwards, “…eventually I stopped caring, I was in too deep to quit.”

Eve then pushed the monitor back to him, when he turned his head back up, he could see an image of his face, and separate images of his body, front, back, sides. Both his birth name and the name he now used were listed, his age, his date of birth, down to the exact millisecond, his parentage—“When the war first started…” he gazed past the monitor to look at her, “I knew I needed more agents, more allies, so I combed through the Archives’ records on humans in the world, I tried to find good agents.”

“ _Every_ human?” Sacchi asked, “All… seven-something billion of them?” he blinked, and Eve, for the first time in this conversation, looked genuinely annoyed, “Sacchi.” She started, “I’m a woman with a human body and a machine brain so sophisticated I’m still trying to figure out how to recreate it.” She narrowed her eyes, “What effectively amounted to seven billion text entries would be easily doable in a day.”

Sacchi nodded, it was best to not question Eve in these matters, it never ended anywhere good, “But for the record, I stopped at around 4 billion before I found you.” a pause, she took the monitor again, scrolled down on some of its entries, and then pushed it back into his face, “Look.” She said, pointing to a specific part, poking the monitor from behind for emphasis, the part of his profile that she pointed at was listed as “Affiliation”, and it read…

Truth of Being.

He looked back to her, “It didn’t look like this before.” She started, “The reason I picked you is because you were listed as an Agent of the Boundary.” He blinked twice, “Agents are rare individuals, people who have had some contact with the Boundary and found worthy enough to work in its interests, and not unlike Dwellers, they get access to something special from the Boundary itself.” She took a deep breath, “What it is varies from agent to agent, but I figured that if your _gift_ was even a tenth of what I had, I needed you on my side, leaving you as a wild card was too dangerous.”

“But… I _didn’t_.” Sacchi replied, wide-eyed, “I _didn’t_ have any gifts. I was an ordinary dude before you brought me into the army – I didn’t even _know_ about the Boundary until this conversation started.” He knew what it meant, he knew what it _had_ to mean, his he could feel the bile clinging to the back of his throat as he thought about it, his eyes starting to burn with the realization, and yet he hoped—“…You were likely listed as one specifically so I would pick you out.”

This was it, the thing he feared the most, he had been listed into these Archives as an agent because it knew that Eve’s ruthless methods would compel her to pick what she found to be the safest option, dragging him into this war whether he wanted to or not. He still remembered how he felt when he was actually shown what the war was about, the kinds of manipulations that were happening, the political maneuvering, the actual, planned genocides, he still remembered how he wanted to escape early on, and yet so quickly, he took the war as his own cause, wanting to protect the world if only because it was the right thing to do.

_Your fate was empty, unwritten, people like you are volatile, dangerous… and so uniquely capable._

He blocked his mouth with his hand, his eyes widening again, did it manipulate Nyx too? Knowing full well that her ambitions for power would bring her to take an active hand in his life? To shackle him as her servant, her _pupil_ , and force him into a war he had no hope of surviving without her help – to make him dependent on her, so she could abuse him and eventually, allow his hatred to fester until he could use her own powers to kill her? Did it plan that far ahead, knowing what the end result would be, _all so it could have him as its own servant?_

_I had hoped to spare you… nobody deserves to go through what you are going to… what **I** went through…_

_You can’t fight infinity… You can’t beat omniscience…_

Was this what Herrscher meant?

“Sacchi?” Eve’s voice brought him out of his thoughts, he looked up, she seemed concerned, her head raised a little to move to touch him, although it recoiled when he moved so suddenly. Sacchi took a deep breath, “…So you’re telling me, that all of this…” he paused, gulping down hard, _did it plan for Taiku’s death, too?_ “Was just… so I would be its servant?”

Eve nodded slowly, “I… think so.” She answered, “I would like to think otherwise, but… It seems like it.” Sacchi blinked twice, with all she had said, he needed to confirm one thing—

“Eve.” His expression grew a little more stern, “Did you use these Archives to check on Herrscher’s profile?” she nodded, although she seemed a little confused by the question, “I did, he did not have one.” She started, “Which means that it’s something the Boundary doesn’t want me to know.”

Sacchi practically jumped out of the pod, exhaling strongly, “Sacchi, did you figure something out?” she asked, and Sacchi let out a scoff, “It doesn’t matter anymore.” He barked out, walking towards the large monitor that Eve had been working on, “We can’t change the past.” In truth, he just wanted to stop thinking about all of this, it was too much, too much information to take in, too much to understand, too much to make sense of, he’d think about this later, but right now, he needed to fucking **stop.**

Eve got up, trailing behind him, and as he gazed upon the monitor, he saw the words **NEGATIVE** in bold red font, flashing periodically on screen, “What are you working on?” anything to distract him from these thoughts, any problem to solve, anything at all.

“The cure for the virus.” She replied, “Well, at least I would be, but I haven’t exactly made any progress in all this time.” She continued, sitting down on her chair again, spinning it to face the giant keyboard. “There’s… _something_ about this Virus, I can’t pin it down.” She started typing again.

“I’m assuming you’ve already tried regular human antiviruses on it?”

“Yes, I did that.”

“And you’ve already taken samples from the berserk Digimon and analyzed them?”

“Digimon, Flora _and_ other environmental samples, no dice.”

“And there’s nothing on these Archives of yours?”

“Sacchi, _please_.” She finally turned to him, “I’ve tried basically anything I could think of, the Archives were practically my first choice.” She frowned, but Sacchi kept looking at the screen, “Well, if you’ve tried all of the obviously reasonable stuff, maybe try some of the crazy stuff?” he crossed his arms, “I know you said that neither the Digital World nor the Human World have _magic_ per se, but yours did, maybe it’s a spell of some kind?”

“That’s… not entirely unreasonable.” She gazed back into the monitor, “If Elsword can create alternative sources of Magical Energy to do his spells, then it does stand to reason that someone else could, too.” She sighed, “But no, it isn’t a spell, I’ve checked that already.”

Sacchi then turned to her, “Well uh…” he paused, “…could it be something similar to this new power I have?” he asked, “I don’t think it counts as _magic_ , not in the way you described it to me, but it’s… well, something.”

“ _Sacchi._ ” Her tone was exasperated, as if he had just said the dumbest thing he possibly could, she pressed three fingers to her forehead, that grimace of annoyance that always came right before she spent the next five minutes explaining to him why what he said wasn’t just _wrong_ , it was so sincerely and bafflingly wrong that she had to wonder if he even had a functional brain. He’s only ever had to endure that four times, and only twice was it actually him genuinely trying to piss her off, and now, it would be the fifth.

Or at least it looked like it would, until she frowned, her eyes shutting tightly in thought, before she let out an audible gasp, and immediately, wide-eyed, she started typing in a frenzy he had never seen from her.

Sacchi leaned into her chair, “Eve?” he asked, “Did you think of something?”

“It isn’t something like the Truth of Being’s abilities.” Eve let out, “It is a power exclusive to them, and it wouldn’t make any sense for the Boundary to be looking for a new one if they already had one in tow.” He saw her purse her lips, “But… there is something that could get similar results.”

She continued typing, the screens on the monitor moving and jumping and changing too quickly for Sacchi to keep up, he could tell that she was running some sort of test on the background, but he didn’t know what. Eve stayed quiet, the sound of her typing the only thing to fill in the room between them, with each second, Sacchi could feel his lips growing dry and his throat seizing up, his anxiety growing, until—

The words came on screen just as Eve pulled back, recoiling, flinching from her monitor, she looked at them with equal parts awe and terror, a mix of confusion and relief passing through her face, she allowed herself to smile, to let out a relieved sigh, and yet, she did not lower her hands, her body still tense. The screen was now flashing a bright green **POSITIVE.**

“…You were right, it is a spell.” She let out, “Just… not the kind of spell I would have ever thought to check for.” she continued, pursing her lips.

Sacchi leaned over her a bit more, “Does that mean you can make progress now?” he asked, “You think you can find a cure?” he continued, and Eve turned to him a little slowly, she shifted her gaze away, mulling over her words for a moment, “…It won’t be an immediate cure, it will be a gradual one.” She started, “But I can do it.” She smiled.

Sacchi smiled back, “Well, glad to have been of service.”

* * *

Sacchi wouldn’t stay much longer in the lab, he would ask for his katanas and his communicator, then go off and meet with BG, whom Gatomon had sent on a Search & Destroy a while ago, she remembered telling him he might be back soon, to check up on him, Sacchi went out to surprise his partner.

Sacchi closed the door behind him, leaving her alone once again in the lab, her face leaning on her hand, as her elbow leaned on the chair’s arm, she narrowed her gaze as she saw the flashing **POSITIVE** on her screen.

Reality Magic.

A type of spell so called because, unlike normal spells, whose entire purpose was altering immediate reality to suit the caster’s needs, Reality Magic reshaped the laws of reality at the fundamental level, altering everything in the vicinity, or, if enough power was applied to it, an entire world, to have the affected area slowly morph according to the new rules.

The highest form of magic that she could think of, and simultaneously one of the most useless, as it was so complex and so difficult to perform, and required such an insane amount of energy even in its most basic level, that not even gods of magic could reliably reproduce it in anything but the shortest of areas. She had only ever seen it performed once, and it required such an insane amount of energy that it destroyed her old world, forcing her and her friends to flee to this one.

And yet, here it was, applied to the entirety of the Digital World, its laws so fundamentally changed it effectively became a different world entirely, a scale so grand with a type of spell so powerful, and most importantly, performed in a world _with no natural magic in it._

She knew that Elsword could exhaust the full power of the Mark of Ouroboros and he would not be able to do this, she knew that Aisha could bring about one billion human sacrifices and Angkor would not be powerful enough to replicate this, she doubted even several deities combined would be able to do this. This virus wasn’t just something ludicrous that she never thought of, it was, by all of the laws that govern magic, impossible.

…Well, there was one way. One possibility. One place where you would be able to find enough magical energy to do this. A formless orange-yellow place of law and infinite potential. It didn’t matter how much it would require then – no number matters in the face of infinity.

But if this was true, then it begged many more questions related to the virus’s creation.

_What kind of person were you, Herrscher?_

Eve took a very deep breath, cracked her knuckles, and got to work. Such musings and questions could wait, right now, she had work to do, a virus to cure – she cracked a smile – she had a world to save.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this is the final chapter, for real now. I didn't want to put notes at the top or really in any of the other "Verses" as I didn't want to break presentation, but now is probably when I should talk about it.
> 
> The last four chapters - the Verses, as I've been calling them - were, as you might have guessed by now, scenes that happen simultaneously with the main story of Veemon and Davis, but are not actually pertinent to the story between them, instead, they're all about what the Main Character of the setting is doing during that time, what happened to him, and indeed, where the setting might be going from here. 
> 
> The last chapter was heavy on the exposition, because this is effectively the start to the next main section of the setting, and so new concepts and new stakes need to be set up, explained and shown, I hope your head didn't spin too much while reading it.
> 
> This was a lot of fun to write, and I'm happy to be able to put it all out there. I can't promise that I will write the rest of the setting, as my personal anxieties and other issues will certainly make it difficult, but I hope you enjoyed your time reading all of this, or at the very least, did not hate it entirely. 
> 
> Thank you.


	18. Reprieve

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The writing bug bit me and I had the urge to write another chapter of this thing. It's not exactly super important and most of the latter half is just self-indulgent sex, but I still had a ton of fun writing this thing.

September 11th, 2026  
2:13PM

My claw slides through the wall next to me, flakes of the mineral breaking off as it does, although I can’t see any mark being left behind by it. As I look upwards, I can see that the wall continues for a while, before curving very suddenly to form the ceiling. This dark, smooth mineral – whatever it is – forming weird jagged edges throughout the wall, and yet touching it reminds me a lot of polished stone.

“Vee?” the voice comes from my shoulder, I can feel his little legs wriggling a bit around my back, I turn towards it, my other hand still holding the green insect over my shoulder, “You’re looking pensive.” Wormmon continues, and I smile back to him. “Ah, it’s nothing.” I reply, “I guess I just never quite got used to how different the digital world looks now.”

Wormmon looks upwards a bit, I can see him squint his eyes a bit, and as I follow his gaze, I can… kind of see small lights at the top of this cave? “Yeah, this place does look a little weird.” He continues, his voice growing a little lower at the end. I don’t think he’s scared, or at least, his body language isn’t showing it.

“Have you ever been to this cave, Vee?” his voice stays low, and he seems to be scanning the roof a little more, “Nope.” I reply, letting my gaze fall back forward. The little lantern on my belt really the only light we both have, although it’s less for our vision. “What about you?” I ask him, lifting to adjust my goggles a little. It’s a wonder how well these things work, it almost looks like daylight in here.

Wormmon shakes his head a little, “Most of my missions were assessing of forests, I don’t think I’ve ever been here.” A little pause as I feel his feet wiggling around again, “It’s weird that Gatomon would send me to a cave.”

“Hey, at least it means we get to spend some time together.” I chuckle, and Wormmon giggles a little, “Yeah, that’s true.” He continues, “How have things been going on your end, Vee?” he smiles, as much as he can with that insect mouth of his. “Ah, well.” I start scratching my cheek a little. “About as well as you can get, I guess.”

“Oh, so the fact you were walking funny earlier wasn’t anything?” Wormmon replies, and he bumps his little head against mine, just a bit. I laugh a little aloud, “Perceptive, aren’t you?” I really have been getting a bit more coy about this than usual; I guess Davis has been rubbing off on me.

“Not hard to notice, buddy.” Wormmon replies, “Glad it’s going well though.” He continues, and I raise my eyes to him a bit more, “What about you? How’s your art going lately?” I smile as much as I can, “Ready to show me some of your work?”

“Ah…” Wormmon immediately grows red. He looks away a little, and takes a deep breath before continuing, “Not… really.” He continues, “I mean, I’ve been improving but…” I can see him blink a few times, “The more I think about it… the more I realize other people wouldn’t see the same beauty in my patterns as I do.”

I start rubbing at his back lightly with my hand that’s holding him, “Wormmon, come on.” I laugh a little, but Wormmon shakes his head, “You’d probably just think they were spider webs…” he continues, and that’s when I rub my cheek against his a little, “Maybe, I’ll admit I’m not the best when it comes to art.” I start, “But I can tell it means a lot to you, and you seem to be excited about it.” I can feel him move his head a little more towards me, “And sharing your excitement with friends is great.”

Wormmon stops for a moment, and then lets out a long sigh that I don’t think he realized he was holding, “…Not now.” He says, “But… thanks, Vee.” He continues, and I rub my cheek on his a little more, “Whenever you’re ready, buddy.”

He quietly continues to snuggle against me for a bit, and I keep my eyes forward while returning his affection by rubbing his back. I can occasionally feel his feet wiggling a bit, and I have to suppress as few giggles when it starts to tickle, but I continue to smile nonetheless.

“Oh and, speaking of my silk…” he lets out, and I can feel his head raise just a little bit. I raise an eyebrow in curiosity, but he continues, whispering in my ear, “…Lemme smash?” he giggles a bit under his breath as he says that.

I have to suppress my laughter with my hand, this kind of thing used to really catch me off guard before, but nowadays it almost seems commonplace for him. “Not today, sorry.” I continue, still chuckling a bit, “It’s a pretty exhausting experience.” And I can hear his laughter grow a bit more, with him using his front most claws to cover his mouth, “Oh, I know, I’m just messing with you.” He continues.

I raise an eyebrow at him, “Are you though?” I reply, grinning, and he rolls his eyes, his smile still very visible, “Well, maybe just a little bit serious.”

The two of us spend some more time laughing among ourselves and occasionally exchanging little affections, it really has been forever since I’ve been like this with Wormmon. Usually when we hang out, we’re at Ken’s place, or Davis’s, and there’s at least some other person with us. Wormmon is a lot more reserved when other people are around, but he really does drop a lot of his barriers when we’re together.

But while I’m enjoying the warmth of my friend next to me, a small rumble starts from my utility belt. “Hm?” Wormmon lets out, and as I reach into the pouch, I see my phone rumbling and the map already opened up – DESTINATION REACHED very clearly readable. “Ah, looks like we’re here.”

I place the phone back on my pouch and pick up the lantern from my belt, it looks like one of these very old-timey lanterns, but it does cast light on a very wide area around us, so I’m not exactly complaining about the aesthetics.

But once I lift the lantern up to my head height, I can see tons of tiny pinpricks of light show up on the wall only a few dozen feet ahead of us. The cave wall here is a lot more jagged and a lot less even than the rest, but these weird lights almost remind me of the night sky, of thousands and thousands of little stars. If I squint hard, I could almost see constellations. “Wow…” Wormmon lets out, his voice a little louder than normal, and as my ears twitch, I’m pretty sure I’m not hearing an echo back.

“Looks like this is it.” I smile, putting the lantern back on the belt and reaching back, grabbing the pickaxe they had provided me for this, “Time to get to mining I guess.”

“I have to wonder why they need this stuff.” Wormmon starts, and I can feel him slowly crawling off my back, onto the ground, “Although I guess this isn’t the weirdest thing they’ve made us collect recently.” He continues, staying close even as he finally leaves my leg.

“I still remember when Gatomon asked me to grab sand from the desert.” I reply, taking the pickaxe with both hands, huh, this thing is a little heftier than I expected. “That certainly was an experience.”

“Mostly they’ve just been asking me to grab some berries from the H-Sector.” Wormmon continues, “It’s been really… weird stuff.” His voice trails off a little. I give my pickaxe a practice swing, “Stuff still grows in the H-Sector?” I ask, almost absentmindedly, and after a few more swings, I smile, taking a few more steps towards the wall.

“Yeah…” he lets out, and I place the pickaxe over my shoulder, where Wormmon was a few moments ago, before grabbing the lantern and leaving it on the ground – despite the jaggedness of the wall, the ground here is still really smooth, so it shouldn’t fall unless I bump into it. Once I’m close enough to the wall, I take a deep breath, raise the pickaxe with both hands, and swing.

The sound of the pickaxe hitting the wall is a lot duller than I expected, but I do feel _some_ give here, so I raise my arms for another swing, the satisfying _cling_ coming right afterwards, and I smile in reaction.

“Actually, Vee.” Wormmon starts, and I turn around, looking towards him, he hasn’t moved an inch. I raise an eyebrow, letting out an inquisitive “hm?” towards him, and he furrows his brow a little, “How long ago was it since you had a patrol mission? Or search and destroy?” he starts, “Anything about dealing with the Berserk?” he stops again, frowning a bit deeper. “…How long ago has it been since you’ve even seen one?”

“Well that was…” I start to think back to when was my last berserk encounter. The last few days have been remarkably peaceful, I’ll admit. I haven’t had to deal with a berserk all week, in fact, I don’t think I had to deal with one last week either, or…

…Wait, when _was_ the last berserk encounter I had to deal with? I know I had none last week. I even remember talking to Agumon about it. Did I have any the week before that? Actually, did I have any last _month?_ I… I don’t think I did. There was one early in the year, I remember that – and I remember there was a few in February, and one at the beginning of March and… and then a few more at the end of March? Did I have any in April? There was a few bad days in May, I remember that much…

…

Was my last encounter with a Berserk Digimon really four months ago? That… that doesn’t sound right.

“Judging by your expression, you’re reaching the same conclusion I am.” Wormmon continues, finally snapping me out of my thoughts, “We haven’t fought the Berserk in months.” He continues, “I’ve been hearing about people having more and more lucky breaks recently, entire weeks without seeing a single one of the Berserk.”

“…Yeah, I think I’ve been hearing the same.” I reply, frowning a bit more, “I can’t remember a single encounter since May.” My memory hasn’t always been the best, but I’m a Digimon, and we have good memories, so I’d like to _think_ I wouldn’t have forgotten it.

“…Is Gatomon keeping us out of the areas with the Berserk?” he asks, letting out a strong exhale, “We’re going to have to ask her about that later.” He continues, and I nod, “Agreed.” Not that I don’t appreciate not having to kill other Digimon anymore, but if her trying to protect us means that stuff doesn’t get done…

Wormmon shakes his head a little, “Well, that’s a subject for later.” He replies, smiling, “I’m going to set up here, I’ll watch your back, so mine to your heart’s content.” He continues, and I smile back towards him, “You got it.” I nod, and then turn back to the wall, the rhythmic sounds of the pickaxe hitting the wall the only noise that fills the void for a while, only occasionally interspersed with the sounds of Wormmon setting up his silk high on the walls, to serve as a watchtower of sorts.

September 11th, 2026  
5:47PM

The light of the teleportation fades away from my eyes as I lazily rub one of them, “I don’t think I’ll ever get used to that.” Wormmon says, quietly, on my shoulder. Yeah, it can be really disorienting.

Once I have my bearings, I push open the giant door to the throne room again, seeing that familiar sight of Gatomon tapping away at that transparent keyboard on that oversized royal chair. Once the door opens, she looks up slightly, “Ah, Veemon, Wormmon.” She smiles, and Wormmon immediately raises his head a little more, “Welcome back.” The feline continues.

As I approach the throne, that little light of teleportation appears again next to it. That robotic maidservant of Eve’s showing up and quietly approaching the two of us. I can feel Wormmon pulling away slightly from her as she approaches, her yellow eyes sending just a small shiver through my spine.

For a mercy, she doesn’t speak, simply reaching out her hand to me as I grab the large sack and untie the knot that keeps it to my belt, before handing it to her. She grabs it, smiles, nods, and then disappears again in a flash of light. Wormmon lets out a small sigh of relief afterwards.

“Well, that’s that mission done.” I continue, turning back to Gatomon, “Got anything else for us to do?” I ask, and Gatomon shakes her head a little more, “Nothing more for you two, no.” she continues, “Although I am going to ask you to not return home quite yet.”

I raise an eyebrow, but before I can vocalize my thoughts, she continues, “I have an announcement to make, and I’m waiting for everyone to return from their duties for it.” A small pause as she goes back to typing on her little keyboard, “I imagine most of the others that already arrived are in the hot springs in the back.”

“We have a hot spring?” I ask, raising my eyebrow, and at that, Gatomon stops again, “Yeah.” She replies, smiling a little bitterly, “I guess I always made you guys too busy to use it before, sorry.” She chuckles sadly for a moment, before shaking her head and smiling again.

“Does this announcement have anything to do with how we haven’t dealt with the Berserk for a while now?”

I turn towards Wormmon, his voice a little higher than normal. His question breaks Gatomon’s concentration enough to get her to stop typing again, and though his tone is mostly curious, I can almost feel the little bit of venom behind it. He has gotten a bit more… pointed in the past few years, so this isn’t exactly a surprise to me, although judging from Gatomon’s expression, it certainly is to her.

It takes her a few moments to reply, as she fidgets slightly in her seat. Before she takes a very deep breath, but unexpectedly, when she raises her head again, she smiles, “Yeah, it is.” She continues. “You don’t need to worry.”

Wormmon’s expression softens considerably at that, and he nods, “Okay then.” He replies, seemingly satisfied. I smile to him first, and then to her, “Then I’ll go put my things in the locker and go to these hot springs.” I turn again to Wormmon, “You know where they are?”

“Yeah.” Wormmon says, “I’ll tell you where to go.”

* * *

The trek to the lockers doesn’t take very long, and after putting my things away, Wormmon guides me all the way to the back of Headquarters, a place I’ve been in very few times. After about a three minute walk, I push open a door to immediately get blasted in the face by the hot steam.

It take me a few moments to recover from it, but as I push the door open more, I can see beyond it the little wooden floor leading to the large hot spring bath just beyond it. It’s not open air, which I guess I should have expected, but as I walk in and let the warm air envelop my body, I can’t help but smile.

“Hey, look who it is!” I hear Hawkmon’s voice before I see him, but as I turn to it, I can see him sitting down on a bench to the left, next to the wall. There’s a towel on his lap, but he waves his wing a little to us as we enter, “Close the door, eh?” he says, and I nod.

After I close the door behind us, I take a moment to look around, feeling Wormmon crawl out of my shoulder again. There’s quite a few benches here, and there’s a few lockers on the opposite side of the little wooden area, but it seems really simple otherwise, aside from the showers a little farther in, and of course, the hot springs themselves. Hawkmon is sitting alone in one of the benches, although farther in I can see Biyomon and Palmon holding a conversation, and I can see Agumon and Armadillomon walking out of the showers shortly afterwards.

“Oh, hey.” The voice draws me to the water, “I guess she really is making us all come here, huh?” Gomamon continues, smiling right in the middle of the bath. Swimming next to him, I can see Terriermon, who seems to mostly use his ears to do the swimming and the floating. Gabumon also seems to be relaxing in the back, while I can see Guilmon with his head laying on his arms, leaning over the edge. His eyes are closed, maybe he’s asleep?

“I’m not the fondest of water.” Wormmon says next to me, “So I’ll stay with Hawkmon for a bit, okay?” he asks, and I smile, “Yeah, that’s fine.” He nods one last time, and then starts crawling towards Hawkmon.

I start walking towards the showers, giving a small wave to Agumon and Armadillomon as they pass by. Once I turn on the water, I take a deep breath, finding myself smiling again, man, the last time I was in a seriously hot bath it was back during that vacation. I really should have known about this place earlier, I would have made so much more use of it.

I’m also very glad that they keep soaps and shampoos here, ‘cause after spending so long mining, my scales are a mess.

And while I clean myself, I can hear the chatter from outside, I can vaguely hear the voice of Hawkmon and Wormmon as they talk. I can hear Armadillomon laughing for a while, before what I can only assume to be getting splashed with water by one of the others – too many people laugh for me to really be able to guess who it was.

However… “So, are you coming in?” I can hear Guilmon’s voice coming, I guess he isn’t asleep, but after a moment, I can only hear a small “No.” in a voice I don’t fully recognize. I can almost imagine Guilmon shrugging a little as he lets out a “Suit yourself.”

Although I do hear a small, “…I preferred you when you were stupid, pineapple head.” Shortly afterwards, with a snort that I recognize as Guilmon’s right after.

Once I’m finally done cleaning my scales to the best of my ability, I close the running water, and walk out of the showers. After a very deep breath, I get to the edge and – yep! Yep it’s hot!

Fortunately, my body fully relaxes after only a few seconds of getting used to the temperature. I much prefer this over lowering myself little by little, and it helps me relax so much easier…

“How was your day, Vee?” Guilmon’s voice comes from directly next to me, and, turning my head upwards and with my eyes closed, I answer, “Not difficult, just had to do some mining in a cave. Wormmon kept me company.” I reply, “What about you?”

His tail thumps the top of the water once before he replies, “Had to go pick some fruits around a river.” He responds, letting out a long, almost contented sigh, “Was a fun day.” He continues, and I can hear a grunt coming from somewhere almost immediately afterwards.

“Who was your partner?” I ask, absentmindedly, and without missing a moment, his tail raises over the water, and points in a direction, to his right – my left. I look in the direction he’s pointing, and there, in the darkest corner of the room – which really isn’t saying much, considering how brightly light this place is – I can see the purple-colored digimon with two large red gloves and the scarf around its neck, sitting down next to the wall, away from everyone else. “Oh, really?” I ask, I guess that explains why I didn’t recognize the voice before, I really haven’t seen Impmon much before.

Guilmon nods, and after a second, he raises his head again, “Hey Impmon.” He says, and the little devil turns towards him, a scowl on his face, “If you wanna be alone, you could try using the sauna, I don’t think there’s anyone inside.” Guilmon uses his tail to loosely point to the opposite side of the bath and as I turn my head to it, I can see a large-ish cabin-like thing not too far from the water.

Impmon visibly grumbles under his breath, but gets up and starts walking around the bath. When he passes by us, I notice that Guilmon finally opens his eyes to look at the little devil, who looks back to him with… wait, is that a blush? I must be imagining it. Impmon doesn’t take very long to enter the sauna at all, closing the door behind him.

I turn my head slightly to Guilmon, “What’s his deal?” I ask, and Guilmon closes his eyes again, “Something up his ass, don’t mind him.” He replies – wow, that’s uh, that’s not the kind of wording I expected from Guil—

Guilmon opens his eye towards me, a small grin appearing in his face, he winks at me once, ohhhhhhhhh. Okay.

I let out a small “heh” and go back to laying my head against the edge of the bath, relaxing, “Didn’t exactly expect you to be like that, Guil.” I say, and he snorts again, before his voice drops a little lower, “You should have been here earlier then. Gomamon didn’t wait for Gabumon to breathe.” I laugh a little, that seal really never misses a beat, huh?

September 11th, 2026  
7:01PM

I spend some time talking to everyone as relaxing in the bath. Gomamon, as always, never quite stops swimming, while most of the others at least take a moment or two to relax. Conversation is lively, especially when Biyomon and Palmon join the bath. Sometimes it’s tough to follow the conversation, as there’s always at least three threads of it going on at once.

It takes roughly another hour for us to get news from the few remaining members of the group. Patamon is the first one to arrive, followed very shortly by Renamon, and then finally, Tentomon. Both Patamon and Tentomon stay out of the bath, while Renamon immediately excuses herself into the sauna. The conversation only gets livelier afterwards.

But it doesn’t take much longer afterwards for us to hear the intercom calling – “All members of Alpha, please come to the throne room.” The robotic voice calls out, and the conversation immediately ends when that happens. “Well, I suppose the party’s done.” Agumon is the first one to say, and Gomamon visibly pouts.

I drag myself out of the bath and start heading for the towels, taking one and walking away from the rack immediately, since everyone is going to be doing the same shortly. I start drying myself off, first my torso—“So, got any idea what this announcement of hers will be?” Guilmon’s voice comes from behind me, and as I look over my shoulder, he smiles, drying himself off as best he can.

“Not… really.” I reply, starting to dry off one of my arms, “When Wormmon asked, she said it was related to us not having to deal with the Berserk in a while.”

“Oh.” Guilmon pauses for a second, “I had been wondering about that. I haven’t seen one since July.” He continues, I can vaguely hear the conversation in the background, loud enough that no one should be able to overhear us unless they try. “I suppose we’re going to find out why, then.” he shrugs slightly before tossing his towel in a nearby bench.

It’s at this point that I turn around for just a moment, seeing Gomamon looking at both of us attentively, smiling. “It’s rude to eavesdrop, y’know.” I smile back to him, and he laughs a little, “Public bath, buddy!” he continues, although fortunately, none of the others seem to have been paying attention.

Once I’m done drying myself properly and toss my towel alongside Guilmon’s, move towards the door, some of the others are already on their way, although I notice that Impmon doesn’t seem to be among them.

I shrug, and Guilmon and I both pass through the door together. I take the time to stretch a little, and I can feel how much less sore my muscles are already. “Damn… Didn’t think I needed that this badly.” I let out, laughing, and Guilmon chuckles a little next to me, “Hot Springs don’t work quite as well for me, resistant to heat and all.” He pauses for a second, “But I do love soaking in them all the same.” He rolls his shoulder a few times, letting out a contented sigh.

Walking through the corridors isn’t quiet by any means – I can catch Agumon and Gabumon discussing something although I don’t quite catch the details. Their conversation is muddled by Tentomon and Patamon having a livelier conversation behind me, which Gomamon seems to chime in occasionally. Terriermon keeps trying to get Renamon’s attention and make her laugh, which doesn’t seem to work as well as he wants it to. Biyomon seems to be having a quieter conversation with Hawkmon, while Palmon seems to be talking to Armadillomon, who is currently giving Wormmon a ride on his back.

Ah, but it _is_ good to see everyone lively like this.

It takes a bit for everyone to get to the throne room, especially since some of us certainly don’t move as quickly as the others. Still, when Guilmon and I arrive, I can see that Gatomon is currently sitting on the throne, although she is not typing this time. Next to the throne, I can see Eve, quietly sitting down on a simple chair, sipping from a cup. Her maidservant next to her with her eyes closed. Gatomon keeps smiling as everyone slowly enters the throne room, even though it takes a few minutes.

And once everyone has filed in properly and conversation has died down a bit, Gatomon jumps out of the throne, walking closer to us. “Thank you all for coming, truly.” She keeps smiling, “It’s already been three years since the end of the war.” A short pause as she closes her eyes, “…In fact, today is that third year anniversary.” Wait, really?

I look around for a second, most of the others here also seem to be surprised at this, I think most of us didn’t notice the time passing back then? I certainly don’t remember when it ended. I… think I was too busy to pay attention?

“Now, I know that none of us have fond memories of the war, so I didn’t bring any of you here to remember.” She continues not very long after, “Instead, I have very good news for everyone here.” And that’s when Gatomon takes a few short steps to the side, and Eve gets up from her chair, placing her cup in her maidservant’s hands.

Eve takes long, slow strides to take Gatomon’s place. She carries her chest high with a large smile, she looks pompous doing this, although I guess she is a queen. “I will not beat around the bush.” Eve starts, turning herself to us, “Phase one of our cleanup efforts has finally been concluded, and we can move on to phase two proper.”

I raise my eyebrow, “What does that mean?” Tentomon is the first one to speak, from somewhere behind me, Eve raises her chin a little higher, her smile fading from her face, “It means that there are no more Berserk Digimon readings in the entirety of the digital world." She pauses for a moment. “Aside from the members of the army and the Four Lords, there are no more Digimon in the entirety of the Digital World.”

That’s…

We… are the only digimon left?

“But that makes no sense!” I feel myself being pushed aside, and I stumble a bit as Agumon takes to the front, “Digimon aren’t supposed to die! We are always reborn as digi-eggs!” there’s a tiny snarl in his voice, but even through his defiance, I can see it, his whole body is shaking – is it anger, or trepidation?

“Under normal circumstances, yes.” Eve continues, seemingly unfazed by the yellow dragon who just approached her. “However, it seems that new Digi-Eggs have not been created ever since the virus took to the Digital World.” She continues, “We checked both of the Villages of the Beginnings, and found nothing. It seems that Digimon are not currently being reborn.”

“Is there any way to reverse this?” another voice calls out from behind me, Palmon, although her voice is low, “We can’t be the only ones left!”

Eve takes a deep breath, “That is what Phase Two entails.” She continues, “We have reason to believe that these Digimon are not gone, but their data is simply stored somewhere.” Another pause, “And we are planning a large-scale operation to recover them in their natural, unchanged states.”

“But—“ the one to speak now is Gomamon, as he crawls his way to Agumon’s side, “The Digital World is still warped by the virus. If we revive them without the protections afforded by the Digivices…” he lets his sentence trail off, concern showing in his face.

“They’ll go Berserk again, yes.” Eve finishes his sentence for him, her intonation hasn’t changed, and I can feel myself biting my lower lip, “But there are good news there too.” Her eyes open a bit more, “While I cannot promise anything in the short term…”

She clasps has hands together, a tiny smile being brought to her face, “I have found the source of the Virus, and I wholeheartedly believe that I can fix it.” She continues, and my eyes go wide, “R-Really?” I verbalize, and I think I can vaguely hear some other voices whispering it behind me too.

Eve nods, “Again, it won’t happen immediately, or even necessarily soon, but it is under works.” She continues, and finally lets her head hang a little lower, “Which brings me to the next good news, the members of Alpha will no longer be required to work.”

Wha—

“Now—“ Eve immediately raises her hands, still smiling, “—I know that this is confusing, so let me clarify.” She lowers her hands again, “We might still ask the members of Alpha to go on missions every now and again, there are some items that I would like to have for side projects that are supposed to help us in the long term, as well as things that might help me find a cure for the virus.” A short pause, “However, none of you will be _required_ to work anymore. Your days are now free.” A tiny smile again, “And since the Berserk as no longer around, you all may feel free to wander through the Digital World together, if you so wish, or do nothing at all.”

“Uhhh—“ Guilmon raises his paw a little, “What about the payments we got?” he asks, and Eve nods in his direction, “I know a fair number of your families are dependent on the money you guys make here to live comfortably, don’t worry.” She then turns back to the group, “You will still receive payments regularly, we don’t want anyone from Alpha to starve, after all. Your free time should be a reward for a job well done, not a punishment.”

So we have… all the free time in the world now? And we don’t have to worry about money? That’s…

“What about this operation?” a slightly deeper voice catches me off-guard, as I turn towards it, I can see Renamon walking forward, “What would you have us do?”

I turn back towards Eve, who purses her lips a little, for a moment, she seems taken aback by the question, her eyes narrow slightly, and she tilts her head slightly, “Nothing.” She replies, “Alpha is not a part of this operation.”

But she raises her chin, “Unfortunately,” her voice grows a little louder, sterner, “the place where this operation will take place is exceedingly dangerous, and while I know that most of you can defend yourselves well enough…” a tiny pause, “…preliminary scouting efforts have revealed that Digimon cannot maintain a form higher than Rookie in the place where we are going.”

Renamon scoffs loudly, but doesn’t continue. Eve, for her part, seems unfazed, “Regardless…” she finally lowers her head a bit more, her voice growing a little more normal, “Those are the news, you are all free to go.”

Before a retort can be made, Eve disappears in a small flash of light, with her maidservant following shortly afterwards. Most of us are left there looking towards the frowning Gatomon, who takes a deep breath.

“Well, those are, indeed, the news.” She starts, looking towards us again, “I am very thankful to all of you for your continued work, I know things haven’t…” she pauses, visibly swallowing, “…always been the best, but things are only bound to get better now.” Her expression looks a little apprehensive, as if she’s waiting for our reaction.

“Gatomon.” Gabumon speaks up, taking a few steps towards the front, “Do you trust Eve?”

Gatomon, without hesitation, nods, “I do.” She starts, “I know she doesn’t have the best attitude, but she does have the best interests of everyone at heart.” She continues.

“Well, I guess that’s enough for me.” Gabumon says, and Agumon turns to him quickly, but Gabumon simply smiles, and that seems to make Agumon visibly deflate.

I can already hear the little chatters breaking out behind me, I can see the little orange body of Patamon walking forward to Gatomon, although they start whispering, and with all of the noise, I certainly can’t hear them. Gomamon, Gabumon and Agumon move towards the back of the group, and I think I can hear Wormmon’s voice among the chaos?

I feel a small bump on my side, and I turn to my right, seeing Guilmon, “So uh…” he points his head to the door, “…You wanna take a moment to process this together?”

I look back, seeing Wormmon talking to Hawkmon and Armadillomon, they seem slightly worried, until Gomamon butts into the conversation and, with that same cheery smile and tone as always, starts to say something that makes them smile a little – he wasn’t smiling nearly as much before, is he faking it?

Honestly, with the chaos as much as it is, I can barely hear my own thoughts, and… I don’t think I can fully process this stuff right now. Not without taking a moment. Have we made Digimon extinct? I mean, they said they can fix it but—

“Vee?” Guilmon starts again, and as I turn to him again, I nod, “Yeah, I do.” I definitely need a moment of quiet.

September 11th, 2026  
8:11PM

Guilmon and I have been walking together mostly in silence for a while now, it’s already dark out, so we’ve been taking it rather slowly, making sure to not get separated on the way. Mostly, it’s been me telling him to wait up for a second while I move through the thicker parts of this annoying forest.

Then again, I don’t remember the D-Sector ever being this dense, I can feel my foot snag on another branch as I keep moving between the trees. I don’t know how Guilmon can do this so easily since he’s so much wider than me, but still, he’s moving between the red trunks rather easily.

A leaf falls on my face for a second, and I can smell the taste of cinnamon on it before I blow it off, “How much farther, Guil?” I ask, almost absent mindedly. It feels a little weird to be back in the D-Sector, since the last time I actually came here was during that ill-fated inferno.

“Not much, it’s just past here.” He responds, not looking back, and jumping in a bush not very far ahead.

I squeeze a little between two trunks and push the bush he just jumped into aside before looking forward again, “Here we are.” Guilmon says, and I can see this extremely nice clearing before me, a pond, maybe once a drinking pond, but now the water is still, with the two of us the only sign of life around.

But the pond shimmers, and as I look above, I notice why – unlike everywhere else in this twisted forest of reds and yellows, the trees seem to be twisted outwards, forming a clearing in the canopy that lets the light of the moon shine brightly upon this pond. The occasional cinnamon-scented leaf still falls nearby, but with no proper wind to carry it, it falls to the ground around the pond.

“Huh.” I let out, walking a little closer, “How long have you known about this place?” I sit down next to the pond, looking out, it’s about two dozen or so meters from here to the opposite side, and I can see the moon reflected perfectly in its waters, “Only a few months.” Guilmon replies, and I can feel him sit down next to me, “It’s a pleasant place.” He continues, as I hug my legs.

“It is.” It feels weird to be here without any of my equipment, I’ve only brought my phone, and I feel strangely naked without the rest. I can still feel the tension in my muscles as I stare at my own reflection in the pond, I can see my reflection frowning and I have to consciously unclench my jaw in response. “How do you feel about all of this?”

“It’s good news.” Guilmon replies, somehow, the scent of the cinnamon leaves still clings a little here, but it’s a lot subtler now, “So I suppose I should feel delighted that we are finally making tangible progress.”

“But we aren’t.” I conclude his thought process, and I can see his reflection nodding in response, I take a deep breath as I feel a small sting on one of my legs, it’s my claw digging into it, and I have to once again, consciously relax my muscles.

Why _am_ I so tense? It should be a happy situation, we’re making progress, we’ll still be getting taken care of by the army, I won’t have to shoot more Digimon and watch them die and have to wonder what kinds of lives they lived…

“Do you want to talk it through?” Guil interrupts my thought process, I look towards him, seeing him sitting with his legs forward, leaning back on both of his paws, turning towards me, he looks more relaxed than I feel, certainly, but that gaze of his makes me think that’s not true.

“If you think it will help.” It’s weird to be like this, to feel like your head is simultaneously full of thoughts and completely empty, but it’s certainly not the first time I’ve been like this.

“Well…” Guil turns to the sky, “We’ve made it to phase two, which means that there are no more Berserk Digimon around.” He starts, and I nod, taking a deep breath, I suppose it will be good to finally be able to walk around the Digital World without fear anymore. I’ll feel naked for a bit without my equipment, but it will become second nature eventually, I’m sure…

I turn back to the pond, the Digital World isn’t the same as before, but if there are other places of beauty like this, then I suppose it can’t all be bad, I can see and discover a whole new Digital World while we wait for the old one to come back, and with no dangers, and no risk, and…

I have to gulp down and breathe in again, I shake my head, and I can see Guilmon nod once more. “We won’t have to do nearly as much work anymore, and we won’t have to worry about money with all of that extra free time.” Guilmon continues. It does mean I’ll have a lot more time to spend with Davis, it means I’ll have plenty of time to spend with Guil and Agumon and all of the others, I could catch up properly with Wormmon, or just by myself if I ever feel like it. It means no stress.

It also means that I can wake up as late as I want, which is definitely going to help my morning mood. I suppose there are a few games I’ve been vaguely interested in that I could catch up on? It’s not like I can leave the apartment aside from coming to the Digital World… man, I’d have to keep my training by myself then. I suppose that’s not too bad, but…

I can feel that prickling sensation again, and a sharp pang in my tongue as I realize I’ve been biting it slightly. I shake my head again, and once again, Guilmon simply nods.

“A cure for the Digital World is possible, and all of the dead Digimon can come back through—“I groan, loudly, without even meaning to, and Guil looks towards me directly, he raises an eyebrow, and I let out a frustrated sigh.

I turn my head towards a random tree, “Can it really?” I don’t think I fully believe Eve, I’ve seen how much the Digital World has changed in these years. A tundra of warm, black snow. A forest of dead, twisted, reddened trees with leaves that look broken and reshaped. A cave of stone so smooth there is no way it wasn’t manufactured, and yet it somehow, wasn’t. Wind so weak it doesn’t even create a breeze, it allows a pond like this one to stay perfectly still. Dead water. Deserts that are freezing during the day and scorching hot during the evening.

“I want to believe…” I really, really do, “But after everything I’ve seen, I don’t think I can.” I can still remember the eyes of a Berserk, every time I close my eyes, I can see one, one with nothing behind the eyes, over and over and over again. “Whatever happened to the world… can it really be undone?”

“Is that what’s upsetting you?” Guilmon asks, and I take a deep breath, I… “…don’t think so.” I shake my head, “…or at least, I don’t think it’s the whole thing.” I let out a long sigh, and I can see Guil leaning forward a bit through his reflection, “Is it the fact that we’re the last ones left?”

I shake my head, surprisingly, I’m not as worried about that as I thought I would be. If Eve thinks she can bring all of the Digimon back to life, I somehow find it easy to believe her on that… which is weird, considering that somehow, I can’t seem to believe her on actually fixing the world, or the Berserk.

Guilmon scoots over to me a little more, I can feel his tail lightly brush against mine as he does so, “Then… is it the operation?” he asks, in a low tone—

_The groaning of the metal fills my ears as I look through the window, how long as it been since we’ve been in the air? I can vaguely hear someone say that we’re safe now, but I can’t help but look in that direction for every second that we descend._

I can feel myself covering my mouth again, the taste and smell of ash invading my nostrils as I gag slightly, _that plume of black smoke, now so far away from my sight, still feels so monumentally close, and yet somehow infinitely far away._

I feel the cold hit my face before I fully register what’s happening, “Ack!” I let out in reaction, I blink my eyes, feeling the wetness in my face as I see Guilmon’s paw dripping with water in front of me, the ripples in the pond still visible. “…Sorry.” Guil lets out, “You looked like you were remembering again.”

“…Yeah.” I let out, sitting cross legged now, “…Thanks Guil.”

The fellow dragon smiles a little, sitting down again next to me, “So you’re upset that we’re being left out of the operation, then?” he asks, plainly, and I nod, “…I think that’s it, yeah.” I turn my head skywards, the moon still shines so beautifully… “…I hate not being able to do something to help.” I continue, “I want to be there, in whatever this operation is, so I can feel like I’m doing something.”

I can feel Guil’s large arm envelop my body, pulling me a little close, and I let myself lean my head against his shoulder, I can feel him massaging my side a little, “I just… I wish I could do something.”

Guilmon doesn’t really respond, but he keeps caressing me, squeezing me occasionally as he does so. I can see our reflections in the pond, and I can see him smiling a little, his eyes closed, and after a few seconds, he puts his muzzle right on top of my head, and I can’t help but smile a little. I can feel myself nuzzling against his neck, and he lets out a small giggle in response.

“Well, you can do something to help someone tonight.” He replies, and as I turn my head up a little, he continues, “You can keep me company.” He chuckles a little, and I can’t help but chuckle back.

“What about you?” I ask, and he lets out a small, inquisitive “hm?” before I continue, “I guess I managed to find the reason why I’m not delighted at the news but…” I let it trail off, and Guilmon stops massaging my side for just a second, I can feel the vibrations in his body as he lets out a small, long “hmm…”

“I suppose in a way I’m skeptical.” He continues, “I’ve never… fully trusted Eve, frankly.” A small pause, “It’s obvious she doesn’t consider any one of us as equals, whenever I see her, I get the sense we’re at best, tools.” Another pause as he purses his lips a little, “Useful tools, tools that need to be maintained and kept from going dull, but tools nonetheless.”

He goes back to caressing my side, and his eyes open a little, “I don’t think she’s telling us everything, I think she’s telling us just enough to keep us from panicking.” A pause, “And I have a feeling not everything she told us is quite true.” He sighs, “But above all else, I think…” he pauses, “…I think she’s convinced herself that she can fix the Digital World, and is trying to make us believe it.” Again, his gaze turns upwards, “What did all of this… it can’t have been natural. And for everything that Eve has done that defies my expectations…”

“…She’s not omnipotent, even though she carries herself as if she was.” I finish his thoughts, speaking lowly. And I think I know why he thinks this way. Though Eve always carries herself with dignity, always carries herself with pompousness, I still remember the weary sighs she let out during the resistance days, I still remember how badly things got, I still remember all of it. She’s not infallible, even if she tries to appear to be.

“I think in a way, she probably thinks of herself as such.” Guilmon concludes, “But I don’t like making that many assumptions of someone, I just know that I’m skeptical of her claim.”

I nod slowly, closing my eyes. “I suppose… there’s not much we can do but wait, is there?” I can feel the shiver run up my spine, I hate it so much, “Yeah…” he lets out lowly.

Who knows how long the two of us spend like this, just listening to each other’s breathing and being together. I can’t help but smile, Guil’s soft and warm body was always good to get my mind off of things. And I think this is therapeutic to him too, considering how this is always how things end up when we talk about heavier things, no matter which one of us is feeling bad.

Although I suppose this isn’t too different from what I do with Davis, especially nowadays. We cuddle and spend time like this a lot, especially when things get heavier. It’s so nice to just… feel the warmth and the breathing of your cuddlebuddy. Man…

“Y’know Vee.” Guilmon lets out, and after a short “hm?” from me, he continues, “I’ll be honest with you for a second.” He squeezes me a little, and I can feel his muzzle curve into a smile, “I’m genuinely surprised that after all we do, we never became boyfriends.”

I giggle a little, “I suppose.” I let out, “Why? Did you want me as your boyfriend?” I put a little joking tone into my voice, and he smiles a little wider, “Nah, I just wanted to spend time with you.” He continues, “I guess you feel the same way, since last you told me, the concept of having a boyfriend never came up to you until Davis kissed you.”

This time, a let out a throaty chuckle, “Yep.” I say, “Although the more I think about it…” I open my eyes again, looking to the pond, our reflection there still as clear as before, “…the more I think that we _do_ look like boyfriends to outsiders.”

“Heh, yeah, I guess we do.” He responds, and then lets the silence hang a little in the air, squeezing me a bit, “I guess we d—“

We both stop in our tracks, lifting our heads and looking back simultaneously. I can feel my ears twitch, and from the corner of my eye, I can see Guilmon’s ears twitching too. “Did you hear that?” he lets out, I… I think I did. Was it my imaginat—

That same sound comes again, a rumbling that reverberates through my ears in ways that make me chill a little, I instinctively find myself reaching for my gun, but as I grasp for the holster, I can feel it’s empty, of course, I didn’t bring it with me.

“I don’t think it’s a Berserk…” Guilmon lets out, and gets up a little, “I think it’s—“

The sound comes again, and this time, I recognize it.

It’s the telltale sound of thunder, and it’s getting closer quickly.

Guilmon places his paw on my shoulder for a second, and I turn to him, confused, he pulls on my arm slightly, he frowns and I get up almost immediately, stumbling after him as he does his best to pull me in his direction.

And after about a minute of moving at a small trot, the sound of the thunder rumbling another four times, we round the pond, and Guilmon then points towards a tree, and I can very quickly see the darkness inside of it, this is a very large tree hollow.

I look up a little, and see that the tree ends only about a meter above the hollow’s top – almost the whole thing is hollow, and yet it stands upright, somehow. It is one of the smallest trees around, and as I look downwards, I see Guilmon having disappeared inside of the hollow already, the only thing visible being his eyes as he turns around. “There’s enough space inside.”

Honestly this doesn’t feel safe even if the tree is small, but I go inside of the hollow, and very quickly realize that it’s just as pitch black from the inside as it was outside. I crawl carefully and feel through the ground, but fortunately there doesn’t seem to be anything here that might hurt me.

“I took a nap in here once, it should be comfortable.” He says, still looking outside, and as I turn around, I can hear that rumble another time, “Guil, is this…”

“It sounds like a thunderstorm, yes.”

“But…” at the edge of my hearing, I can start to hear it, “… this isn’t…” the pitter patter, quickly growing closer and louder.

I can’t bring myself to speak as I can see it start outside, the smell of cinnamon completely vanishing as the smell of wet earth starts to invade my nostrils instead, the completely still waters of the pond now in a sheer chaos of ripples, the light of the moon outside vanishing almost completely, leaving us in even deeper darkness. The pitter patter against the wood and the ground and the water and the leaves filling my ears just as much as the rumbling does.

It’s actually raining.

The entire Digital World has not seen a single cloud, a single drop of rain, the sound of thunder or the flash of lightning for years, not since the Virus spread, not since this nightmare began, not since…

“It’s raining.” Guilmon says, and I can feel a small smile creep up to his face, “Veemon, it’s _raining._ ”

My hand goes out to my belt, and I can feel myself fumbling with the straps as I can’t bring myself to look away from the sight. I don’t know how long it takes, it’s almost like my hands are moving without my input, I don’t even have to look to press the buttons on the screen once I finally grab my phone, “Veemon to HQ, over.” I let out, still mesmerized. I’m vaguely aware of Guilmon turning in my direction.

“This is HQ, what is it, Veemon? Over.” The voice on the speakerphone is Eve’s, in that same clinical tone she always uses, “…was the operation successful?” I blink a few times, “…Over.”

For some reason, even when I’m not looking at the screen, when the words come through the phone, I can imagine the smile in her face, “…Yes, Veemon. Operation: Connect has been successful.” She responds, “We now have control over parts of the Digital World, and can begin the rebuilding process properly, over.”

I can’t help but smile, “…Thank you HQ, over and out.” My finger presses the button again on the screen, and the communication breaks immediately. And immediately, as soon as we are left with nothing but the sound of the rain outside, Guilmon starts giggling.

And in that same moment, I can’t help myself but join in, the giggles quickly turn to chuckles, and the chuckling to euphoric laughing between the both of us. For this moment, there is nothing but us, us and the proof that change can happen, that the future can be brighter, that all of our efforts weren’t for nothing.

As we lean on each other and take pleasure in our laughing, it feels like a thousand tons of weight were dropped from my shoulders, I can feel my entire body relaxing even as my laughter continues unabated. The world around us can change, and what we did allowed that, we kept fighting, and now here we are, and though the fight isn’t over, this proves that hoping isn’t futile.

I can feel myself laughing against Guilmon’s chest as I can feel his laughing reverberate throughout my body, I can feel him hugging me with strength and still laughing. I can hear his tail tapping against the ground behind him, and then…

Y’know what? Fuck it.

I turn my head up and place a kiss squarely on Guilmon’s lips, Guilmon only hesitates for a second before pressing into the kiss, and though we still giggle in between our lips, it is mostly a tender moment that only lasts a few seconds.

And when we break apart, I fall back, my back against the tree trunk as the last few giggles escape my throat, “S-Sorry, sorry… it’s just…” I let out another laugh, “When I’m euphoric with Davis I…”

“Man…” Guilmon looks at me for a moment, before leaning into me again, “Can’t you take a fucking hint?” he continues and then I feel him press his lips against mine again. I press into his lips again, the giggles having mostly stopped and leaving only the gentleness and the tenderness between us. I can feel him crawl up a little closer, before grabbing me with both of his arms and pulling back, placing me squarely on his lap.

“Wow…” I place my hands on his chest, “You’re being… forward.” I can’t see his face in this pitch darkness, only the faintest glimpse of his eyes, although my eyes are adjusting slowly, “That’s unusual.”

“Yeah well, this is an unusual situation.” Guilmon replies, and I’m pretty sure he’s smiling, “You and I are alone, with no pressing commitments, in a very private place, and neither Takato nor Davis will be back for a while still.” He presses his forehead against mine, leaning down his head, “And I am delighted about all of this and I need to get these emotions out of my chest somehow.”

“Well…” I grin a little, and press a kiss into his forehead, “I guess we’re lucky that the bakery is working late tonight.” I use my hands to raise his head a little more, and press another kiss to his lips before pushing him carefully to the ground, his head lays on the floor as I continue to press my lips against his, this tree hollow fortunately large enough for him to fit completely like this.

I can feel him wrapping his arms a bit more tightly around me, and through the kiss, I feel his tongue flick once on my lips, and I can’t help but giggle, it tickles a bit. When he pulls back a little, even through the darkness, I can see him gazing into my eyes, half-lidded, and that gentle caress going through my back, picking only slightly at the spikes back there. I place a quick peck into his lips again before sitting back up, starting to undo the buckles on my belt.

Guilmon places both of his arms below his head, and as I undo the first buckle, he starts talking, “It’s been a bit, hasn’t it?” he smiles a bit harder, and I’m having a little trouble with the buckles, as I can’t actually see them, so I have to work through touch. “You say that as if we did this regularly.” I smile a bit more, and he chuckles, “No, we don’t, but still.” I can see his eyelids opening just a bit, “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t excited.”

I undo the second buckle, pulling the shoulder part downwards a bit, “Feeling’s mutual.” I chuckle a bit under my breath before looking into his eyes again, “I almost forgot how cute you are when you’re below me.” I grin a bit, and Guilmon chuckles, “Hopefully you can apply some of the things you learned in this time, eh?”

I look to him for a bit, and smile, nodding. “Sure thing.” I reply, and finish undoing the belt, placing it on the back of the hollow, and then placing both of my hands on his chest, and then moving just a little lower, to the top of his belly, “Unfortunately…” I move myself back a little bit on top of him, letting more of his belly show, and I slowly trace my fingers on it, “We’re going to have to make do with spit and cum for lube.” I chuckle under my breath.

“Oh no, how will I ever recover?” Guilmon laughs, and I turn towards him again, “Is that a challenge?” the grin never leaves my face, but Guilmon chuckles under his breath again, “I know what you’re capable of, Vee, and I’d like to walk tomorrow.” He smiles a bit more, I can see him more clearly now, I guess my eyes are finally adjusting. “So let’s do this slowly, shall we?”

I let the grin fade from my face and nod, before sliding out from on top of him entirely, I lay down in front of him, resting my head on his thigh, and reach out my hand to rub gently at his belly. Guilmon places both of his arms on top of his chest when I do this, and takes a very deep, contented breath. Good, his belly is still his weak spot.

I gently rub my nose and mouth on his crotch, letting my lips linger a bit as I do. When I take a deep breath, his smell isn’t as strong as I’d like it to be, it’s mixed in with the scent of the wet earth and I think I get a hint of the cinnamon in there, but I can still enjoy this. I let my claws dig just a little into his belly, and I hear him breathe a little stronger, his tail tapping under me.

Once I finally start to feel it, I close my eyes, guiding myself entirely through touch. I rub my face on it a little more as the head starts to poke out from his crotch, and as it does, I go back to just rubbing my hand over his belly, no claws, while I slowly pass my lips through the head as it pokes further and further out. I hear Guilmon let out a longer sigh, and that inevitably brings a smile to my face.

As more and more of it comes out, I press my tongue to the very tip, feeling the distinct taste of the precum come out, before I use my other hand to hold his almost-fully erect dick still, as I start to press my lips to its side a bit more, and slide my tongue to the underside of his dick as I slowly pass it through his entire length. I feel my tongue pass by through the weird bulb-like things that he has on the underside of his dick, feeling them give with just the slightest pressure from my tongue, their softness in stark contrast to the fact that his dick is now very much as hard as he can be.

I hear him give out a small moan as I pass by the second one of these bulb-like things, he always told me that these were incredibly sensitive, so I do it slowly, both to not overwhelm and not to hurt him. I take another deep breath, his scent now stronger than before, my other hand still rubbing his belly in slow round motions as the red dragon below me gives out high-pitched moans, trembling slightly. I can feel his tail tapping on the floor a bit harder.

I push his dick a bit more upwards, and place my entire mouth on the underside of his dick, now passing both my lips and the very tip of my tongue on these little bulbs, hearing a much higher moan from him as I do, “Vee!” he lets out, and I stop moving for just a second, but as he doesn’t tell me to stop, I decide to keep going, his dick starting to twitch in both my mouth and my hand. As I reach the halfway point of his dick, I let myself very gently suckle on one of the bulbs, putting it in my mouth, and Guilmon lets out another huge moan. His voice cracks slightly, and I can feel his body tremble again as he tries to form words, but his throat only lets out weird moans and half-syllables. I remove the little thing from my mouth and rest my head against his thigh again, still holding his dick in my hand, touching it to my lips, but giving him a moment of respite.

And as he sighs and gasps to put air back in his lungs, I finally open my eyes, and see him looking directly at me. I can see his face a lot more clearly now, and I smile back, flicking my tongue at the bottommost of his little bulbs, earning another moan from him. His half-lidded eyes stare back at me, his dick twitching a little as I rub my thumb across its side, only a little bit. “Damn it Vee…” he lets out, and then gulps down some spit before taking another gasp, “…how the hell are you so hot doing this?” he asks.

I giggle a little bit, “I just enjoy sucking dick.” I reply, gently stroking him, although not touching the bulbs, “And when the other guy enjoying it, that means I’m doing a good job, so I get more into it.” I smile a bit more, “It’s fun.”

Guil chuckles a bit under his breath, “Yeah… I can get that…” he lets his head back down to the floor properly, and I take another deep breath, that delightful scent now a lot stronger than before, and as I close my eyes again, I let my tongue rest a little on his balls, before slowly moving it upwards through the base of his dick, catching the backside of those little bulbs. This immediately makes him let out another moan – they all point towards the base, so apparently brushing them in the opposite direction gets quite a reaction from him.

I let my tongue linger a little on each one, until I can feel his dick start to twitch more and more, and Guilmon start to kick the ground next to me, and I know this is my cue. I quickly pass my tongue through the backside of all of his bulbs and bring my mouth back to his tip, and then put his head on my mouth. Guilmon’s moans only increase as his body gives out little spasms and shivers, and it doesn’t take very long for me to feel the hot liquid hitting the back of my throat. I swallow a little, although his taste is a little on the bittersweet side, but as always, he keeps going.

I pull my mouth back after a few spurts, and I can feel his cum hitting my face not long after. The warm liquid sliding down my cheek a little as I pass my finger through it a bit. Guilmon shoots out the last few spurts of his orgasm, hitting his belly this time, and after the twitches of his dick and his body finally stop, his arms fall back to his chest and he gasps loudly back for breath.

I crawl a little towards him, and when he opens his eyes to see me again, I pass my thumb through the cum that’s on my face, lick it and then press my lips to his again. I twist my head a little so I don’t block his nose, and I do most of the work with invading his mouth with my tongue, as he’s busy trying to catch his breath. Even so, I can feel his tongue passing through mine, licking the cum I put on it and all the cum from inside of my mouth.

And when we’re done, I pull back and sit down, rubbing his belly in small circular motions, waiting for him to recover. My dick is already fully out and fully ready, and I can feel it twitch a few times, but…

“You’re really cute when you’re like this.” I say, smiling a little, and still gasping for breath, he replies, “S-Shut up…” if it wasn’t so dark, I don’t doubt that I would be seeing him get even redder right now, “Just… give me a second…” he continues, raising his head a bit more, his chest rising and falling a lot as he gasps for air.

It takes a few moments for his breathing to go back to normal, but when his gasping has been reducing to a much more controlled panting, he turns his head back to me, “Sometimes I think I shouldn’t have told you my weak spots…” he chuckles, “But boy am I glad I did.”

I get up again, “Well, there’s another one of your weak spots…” I crawl back to in between his legs, “…that I fully intend to exploit.” I lay down on my belly again, giving the tip of his dick a playful lick before lowering my head a bit more and taking one more strong sniff of his scent, the strength of the smell now sending shivers throughout my spine. I hear Guilmon giggle a little, and I look to him again, raising an eyebrow.

“You’re really into my musk, aren’t you?” he asks, and I can feel my cheeks get a little hot, “Well… yeah. It smells really nice.” I look away, “…Is it weird?”

But Guilmon shakes his head, “Not really, no, and sorry for teasing you.” He smiles, “Didn’t know you were self-conscious about it.” I nod to him, for once glad that the darkness here can probably mask how much I must be blushing right now. I take another deep breath, lowering my head again, going past his dick and into his taint, before I grab both of his legs and lift them, and Guilmon adjusts his position.

“Well, I did just tease you about how cute you look so…” I rest my chin on his tail, spreading his asscheeks and lick my lips, “Fair’s fair.” And before he can retort, I press my lips against his entrance. He lets out a moan, more of surprise than anything I think, and I give him a single, long lick, feeling the tip of my nose bumping against his balls as I do. I can feel his body shivering, his breathing accelerating once again.

After that single long lick, I start giving him quicker, smaller licks instead, and almost immediately he responds by giving out a whine, pushing his hips into me as he does. His legs wrap around my body, hugging me, and I can feel him try to pull me in with them. I pull out my head for just a second to catch a breath, before going back to licking right around his asshole. He moans again, this time mixed in with those whines of need, and with a giant smile on my face, I press my tongue right at the center of his entrance, putting just a tiny bit of pressure on it.

“Vee…” Guilmon lets out, a gasp, followed by a long sigh, “…stop being a tease…” and I can’t help but grin, before putting more pressure into my tongue, I can feel his flesh give away to his inner walls, and he lets out another gasp, this time a bit higher pitched. I turn my face upwards a bit more, letting my nose poke on the underside of his balls and allowing me to catch a whiff every single time I take a breath.

I take some time coating his inner walls with as much of my spit as I can, and every single time I pull my tongue back a bit, I can hear the tiniest of whines from Guilmon, followed by large sighs as he actively tries to get air back into his lungs. It doesn’t take very long for him to start pulling me in again with his legs, but when he does, I pull my tongue back just a little bit, hearing that whining again, before I push it upwards, and hearing him let out a large gasp as I put pressure against his prostate.

Immediately afterwards, I pull my head back, removing my tongue from inside of him, and taking a very deep breath before wiping the spit from my mouth with my arm. Guilmon lays down in front of me, arms raised above his head, seeming both thankful for the respite and yet annoyed that I stopped. I smile as I place my left hand on his belly again, “Well, you seem to be very needy tonight.” He half opens his eyes, still trying to catch his breath, and gulps down his saliva once, and I only smile wider, grabbing my dick with my right hand, already twitching and leaking pre, and placing it right into his entrance. “You ready, big guy?” I smile more towards him, and he closes his eyes again, “Please Veemon… fuck me…”

I raise both of my eyebrows, wow, him pleading like this is certainly a first. Still, I just look down and start to push forward, feeling his asshole give way pretty easily, and as soon as I do, I feel the goosebumps run all throughout my back, letting out a small moan just as I enter. Fuck… This always feels so amazing…

I have to bite my lower lip to stop myself from just thrusting into him full force, and slowly going in, and in, just as another set of goosebumps—

I let out a gasp in surprise as I feel the small impact, a large sound echoing inside of this tree hollow as Guilmon pushes himself towards me again, forcing me to hilt him immediately. I half open my eyes, looking at him as I let out a sigh, and he’s looking back to me, just as obviously horny as I am feeling right now. He lets out a small satisfied moan, before gulping down and looking towards me again, “…Please Vee…” he lets out, “Just… fuck me dude.” He sighs again, “Fuck me _silly_.”

I look into his eyes for just a moment before my body responds, starting to thrust into him as quickly and as strongly as I am able. His moans turn even higher pitched, while I can still feel his body trembling against mine as the noise of my hips smacking against his thighs fill this confined space. My own breathing is completely out of control, and I can feel myself twitch with each thrust I do in him – my throat already feels incredibly dry.

I feel something hit my chin, and as I look down, I can see his dick so very close to my face, due to our difference in size. I immediately grab it with my left hand and place my lips to it, earning another moan from the red dragon under me. I can feel him pulling me in with every thrust, and the pre coming out of his dick coats the inside of my mouth within seconds, with me lapping at it with every thrust I make.

“Vee…” he moans, louder, and I can feel his tail as it coils itself around mine. Fuck, at this rate—

I feel the pressure building inside of me, and my hips fight to go faster and harder as it does, even if I wanted to, I don’t think I’d be able to bring myself to stop. Once the crescendo reaches its climax, the primary feeling I get is not only of the orgasm passing strongly throughout my body, but also of the warm liquid entering my mouth again. I take a deep breath through my nose, trying desperately to keep both thrusting and sucking him off, but as his cum hits the back of my throat, my gag reflex kicks in.

I pull his dick out of my mouth and can feel myself reflexively coughing, as my hips finally start to slow down, the flood of hormones going through my brain now finally dissipating. For a very long moment, the two of us are reduced to only gasping and sighing, fighting to get air back into our lungs inside of this tree hollow.

Fortunately for me, my coughing doesn’t last very long, and I sit back down, pulling my dick out of Guilmon as he lets out a tiny whine in reaction. I raise my head, eyes closed, but very quickly I hear his voice, “Are… are you okay…?”

“Y-Yeah…” I reply, licking the inside of my mouth, “Y-Yeah…” I let out a small chuckle, and turn my head back to him, smiling, “You…?” Guilmon doesn’t smile, but he does let out a small nod.

It takes about another minute before either of us speak, “Sorry for being pushy…” Guilmon lets out another sigh, “Just… man I needed this more than I thought.” He laughs a little, and I can’t help but smile back, “It’s fine.” I let out, "You... did tell me to be gentle though..."

"Yeah... like I said, I guess I needed this more than I thought." he giggles a bit, and then his expression turns into a large grin. "Not that I'm not used to it, Takato's not exactly one for mercy." 

I snort, before getting up a little, moving to sit on top of him again, feeling his dick touching my tail as I do. I look down towards him, and he smiles again, “Hey, Guil.” I start out, “This is going to come out of nowhere but… Are you okay with us only being friends?”

He laughs a little, “That is a bit out of nowhere, yeah.” But he puts both of his hands behind his head, and look back to me with a smile, “But yeah, I’m comfortable with just being friends.” He snorts, “Not that I didn’t have a crush on you for a while, mind, but I’m comfortable like this.”

I raise both of my eyebrows, “Really?” I smile a bit more, “How long did that crush last?” he grins a bit in response, “Not long, you were too oblivious for me to have any chance.” He snorts as he finishes the sentence, and I can’t help but laugh a little, “You dick.”

As soon as I say that, I can feel his dick twitch against my tail, and I let my eyes half-close, “Well, I hope you’re well rested, cause we ain’t done yet.” I let out, and he too half-closes his eyes, “Can’t get enough of me, can ya?” and I reply by getting up and turning around, lifting my tail as I sit right on top of his muzzle, earning a rather surprised grunt from him, “Nope, no I can’t.” I laugh a little, “And besides, you did say you were wanting another go at my ass, so get that tongue working.”

* * *

I don’t know exactly how long we spend like that, once we do start, it’s always hard for us to stop, although the idea of stopping never even crosses my mind this time, not until I hear the buzzing and the noise of Davis calling me on the phone. Guilmon gets a similar call from Takato, though I never bother to check the time when it does happen.

When we are finished, mostly due to being called back home by them, we say our goodbyes and leave using the teleporting function from the communicators. The rain never abated, and despite the sound of thunder, I never saw a single lightning flash, although maybe that’s only because I was rather _busy_.

Davis and I took a bath together when I got back home, and slept together like we always do, I slept like a rock, with the dumbest smile on my face, but it wasn’t until the next morning that it all really, fully hit me, that I was waking up to a world where there was genuine hope for the future. Maybe in the end, we could even do something for the human world as well as the digital world. Maybe in the end, everything _could_ heal.

It is a bright future, one I am very, very excited for.


End file.
